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Posts tagged with: Pakistan
Dec 27, 2010    |       11 comments

Burka Women…. Funny or Offensive?

Saad Haroon pokes fun at the Burka by producing this short YouTube Video titled Burka Woman. I personally think its a hilarious poke at the issue but saw some people being offended by it?

What is your reaction to this video
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkVl_7N-m3I[/youtube]

—– UPDATE —–

About 10 minutes after I posted this blog post on Facebook somebody marked this URL [https://teeth.com.pk/blog/2010/12/27/burka-women-funny-or-offensive] as SPAM preventing me to repost this on my facebook wall, what is interesting that someone is definitely offended enough to mark it as spam without so much as discussing the issue and arguing his own side.
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Dec 20, 2010    |       36 comments

Being Smart about the Blasphemy Law

Politics is best understood as a game of chess: every pawn, rook and knight has its purpose, every move depends on the previous one. No major law or political event is in isolation; each one has a long history in a philosophy or a series of events and proponents on either side. Without an honest appreciation of this background, the ground-realities and a found understanding of the public narrative many efforts to reform can inadvertently spiral into chaos.

The current attempts to reform or repeal the blasphemy law are such moves. No matter how draconian the law may be it can not be changed so easily and so quickly, as the well-intentioned but rather naive move of proposing an amendment wrongly suggests. This proposed amendment and the legitimate outburst by Human Rights Groups in Pakistan has triggered preemptive action across the country : A cleric has offered a cash reward for murdering the accused; protests against inflation and for the return of missing people have turned into pro-blasphemy law rallies; judges have barred the government from amending the law; lawyers have passed resolutions to pressurize government to not consider this amendment, and the urdu media has its own take on the issue. Will the amendment even pass when not one directly elected MNA has voiced their support for the amendment?
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Nov 27, 2010    |       2 comments

International Youth Conference 2010 – 6th to 9th Dec, Islamabad

International Youth Conference & Festival is to be held in Islamabad from 6th-9th of December which will attract students from around the globe. The four day conference will give an opportunity to students from around the world to interact and learn from each other experiences. The conference has been organized by Miradore Productions and Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, in partnership with Khudi Pakistan and Ministry of Youth Affairs is also supported by Google, Youtube and NCHD and Ministry for Women Development. Students from US, UK, Turkey, Somalia, Malaysia, Thailand, Bangladesh and Scotland are expected to come to Islamabad to attend the event.

The focus of the event is to highlight the role of youth in peace building and to bridge cultural, regional and religious gaps. Participants will also discuss ways to work for women empowerment, disaster management and use of modern social networking tools to help in these areas.

I believe this to be a great initiative by the organizers to bring various students from around the world and allow them to share their opinions engaging in dialogue, literally investing in the future. I wish the attendees an amazing conference

[via Guppu]

Nov 22, 2010    |       8 comments

You Need Balls to Cheat

Zulqarnain Haider, Pakistan Cricketer who whistle blowed on the betting mafia talking to the mediaPublished in The Express Tribune, November 22nd, 2010

Like everyone, the devil inside me pushes the mind to cheat, be it in an exam or cutting a long queue at an immigration desk. Why I refuse to fall prey to the devil has little to do with my sense of righteousness, it is an overwhelming fear of being caught. Remove that fear, and I might end up cheating. The twist to this logic is that if I get away with it the first time, I’ll be bolder the second time; it’s human nature.

This is why in Pakistan the influential elite fearlessly waltz through every sense of order, blatantly challenging authority, knowing their elevated status in society prohibits them from getting caught. Lest they accidentally fall through the cracks, a few bribes are enough to get them back in action. Discipline is kept in check with the imminent fear of being caught, remove that fear and chaos will overwhelm the community.
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Nov 9, 2010    |       35 comments

I Salute, Zulqarnain Haider for not selling Pakistan to Cricketing Bookies

In what may seem to have been a huge controversy yesterday just before the start of Pakistan vs South Africa‘s 5th and final One Day International in Dubai. Zulqarnain Haider a new wicket keeper for Pakistan quietly skipped out early that morning from Dubai taking to London. Amidst the massive match fixing controversy that has plagued Pakistan Cricket this last year, it seemed that Zulqarnain Haider may too have also fallen astray.

A day later after reaching London he briefly talked to reporters and was guarded in admitted to have been receiving threats from one un-named person to influnence the 4th ODI, which Pakistan spectacularly won two days earlier, and the pressure was on him again to influence the 5th ODI as a pay-back. The only way he thought best was to skip out of Dubai as he could not sell his country, to have said on cricinfo
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Oct 27, 2010    |       7 comments

Before and After Pictures of Shikarpur Pediatric Ward

Just a follow up on the Shikarpur Pediatric Ward, Umair Jaffer prepared a short PDF file on the before and after pictures of the work done at the Shikarpur pediatric ward as a collaborative effort between OffroadPakistan and CDRS-Shine Humanity. The older three wards were revamped by OffroadPakistan and we also took the burden of setting up and stocking the free medical dispensary, CDRS team took the initiative of setting up two brand new wards nearby, seeing these pictures one does get a proud feeling, that with proper team work we can seriously make a difference

Oct 8, 2010    |       25 comments

Crisis Guide: Pakistan

Beset by devastating floods, increased terror attacks, and political instability, Pakistan’s precarious state is a matter of global concern. “Crisis Guide: Pakistan,” the Council on Foreign Relations‘ (CFR) new interactive multimedia feature, examines the roots of the country’s challenges. The interactive presentation includes video interviews with more than twenty-five leading analysts, government officials, and journalists from Pakistan, India, and the United States.

Crisis Guide: Pakistan
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Oct 6, 2010    |       12 comments

Pakistan needs a Sovereign & Honest Leadership

Pakistan needs an honest and sovereign leadership.  I insist on only these two qualities as my priority. I accept that this may have a personal bias based on my own experiences and knowledge.  So what follows is built on the above premise.  For some of us, far more important would be ‘left or right’, or the ‘stance on war of terror’ etc.  But a choice we of selection we have to make, and urgently.

There is so much confusion in our minds regarding leadership which is further magnified by our media (see Talat Hussein’s show on AAJ TV on leadership http://pkpolitics.com/2010/09/28/live-with-talat-28-september-2010/ ).   Even at this critical juncture we are not able to select our directions, indeed the majority of Pakistanis do not know what to do.  Most among the literati still take pride in stating that they are a-political.  This is understandable that because of rampant corruption politics has become a dirty word.  Aristotle in his 8th book ‘Politics’ stated as long ago as 350 BC that man by nature is a political animal.  He ridiculed the idea of people being non-political.  He stated that though ‘by statement’ they can, be but actually they are not.  At least they are on the receiving end of all political decisions which effect their lives every day

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Sep 23, 2010    |       13 comments

The Education Crisis in Pakistan

The government has cut HEC’s funds in the wake of fiscal constraints. The government has allocated Rs15.8 billion for the HEC for the current year, an amount which is Rs19 billion less than that needed and is under threat of reduction. So far the government has only released Rs1.4 billion of this amount, all of which is going towards human resources while no money has yet been released for scholarships as a result of which the future of 14,000 PhD students, 5,000 of whom are studying abroad, is at stake. [Tribune: 72 Universities to go on Strike]

This fiscal year’s budgetary allocations for higher education have been slashed by more than 70 per cent. In a poorly thought out moment, the government announced in June a 50% increase in salaries which has subsequently not been possible to honour to date leading to a very avoidable sense of deprivation.

CUTTING BACK ON UNIVERSITY  EDUCATION

Why is it that financiers only think of money: How much money will it take to make more money? How much money must we borrow? How much money must we make to repay what we borrow? There is never enough talk of what money can buy, what is worth buying, or those things worth achieving that perhaps money can’t buy.

Such as being accomplished at what we do, being well behaved, appreciating what is beautiful around us, how to use authority wisely, how to be calm and dignified, the necessity of being honest in one’s dealings, respect for others, being responsible, how to be empowered , how to be ambitious without being ruthless, how to be competitive without being unjust, how to love and be loved, how to care for and value our elders, our children, our women, our neighbours, our animals, our environment, how to harvest yet preserve the gifts of nature.
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Aug 11, 2010    |       14 comments

Op-Ed: Managing the Disaster Managers

One often wonders how a country run by a bunch of total lunatics can be expected to perform a reasonable job when confronted with a natural disaster. It may be a harsh generalisation, but Pakistan suffers far more seriously at the hands of bureaucratic pencil-pushers during natural disasters, while millions of Good Samaritans chip in to provide relief in a far more organised and generous way than the very people they have voted into power.

In recent times, we have had our fair share of natural and man-made disasters and each has left a lasting scar. By the grace of God we have somehow managed to pull through, but I often wonder if we had been better prepared would we have been able to save even one more life from the hundreds that lay at our feet?
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Aug 9, 2010    |       2 comments

Importance of Social Sector Development

Pakistan is facing high budget deficit which is hitting the economy badly. For reducing budget deficit, the government is cutting down expenditures in the social sector like education and health. When the government reduces expenditures on education, health, population issues, the poor is hit the hardest. No nation can progress without a strong human capital base and investment in this area will be as essential as sound macroeconomic policies in achieving the desired economic boom. They are the ones who depend most upon state provided facilities.

Though all might be enjoying the subsidy, the poor have the highest value for it. When infrastructure prices are raised, the poor are again the hardest hit, as they have to pay more. When jobs are cut, they again are the hardest hit segment of the society, as they have no assets to depend upon apart from the labour that they can sell. The recent cutting in expenditures of the public sector development has increased the incidence of poverty in the country.
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Aug 3, 2010    |       8 comments

Short Measures and Broadband Pakistan

The oldest known source for the expression “baker’s dozen” dates to the 13th century in one of the earliest English statutes, instituted during the reign of Henry III (1216–1272), called the Assize of Bread and Ale. Bakers who were found to have shortchanged customers could be subject to severe punishment. To guard against the punishment of losing a hand to an axe, a baker would give 13 for the price of 12, to be certain of not being known as a cheat. Specifically, the practice of baking 13 items for an intended dozen was insurance against “short measure”, on the basis that one of the 13 could be lost, eaten, burnt, or ruined in some way, leaving the baker with the original legal dozen.

A few centuries on from the initiation of the baker’s dozen, and we have trading standards funded and operated by the government and off course regulators too. Their TOR extends far wider than preventing the short changing of customers, and also includes misrepresentation in advertising and supply.
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Jun 28, 2010    |       5 comments

Hunger knows No Friend but its Feeder

While a minority, born with a silver spoon living in their palatial havelis, luxurious farm houses and bungalows, can talk about the problems being faced by the country such as fake degrees, terrorism, the presidency and target killings on their dinner tables, with generators on standby and water tankers at their disposal, there are millions in this ‘land of the pure’ who survive on one meal per day and it is nearly impossible for them to make both ends meet no matter how hard they try.

They are the deprived class, peasants or the masses that are being continuously exploited by the waderas, chaudrys and seths to work on their farms, factories or houses for ages, that too on meager or no salaries at all.

A recent study sponsored by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation titled ‘The state of food security in Pakistan’ and carried out by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) in collaboration with World Food Programme narrates that Pakistan is a country where 48 per cent of the population is under extreme food insecurity and these figures have doubled between 2003-2009 along with a 14 per cent drop in the food secure districts.
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Jun 24, 2010    |       8 comments

British Foriegn Secretary to answer Pak/UK Questions on Twitter

Today at 10:30pm (Pakistan Time) British Foreign Secretary William J Hague on his trip to Pakistan is going to come on twitter [@WilliamJHague] to answer questions. I believe this is a great initiative by the UK govt to engage with the general public on a one-on-one basis, I fully support the effort. You are welcome to pose questions on Twitter using the hashtag #FSinPak and I am sure quite a few will be answered live in the 140-character twitter style responses

My question posted earlier yesterday was “Q to @WilliamJHague #FSinPak > your position on liberating Pakistan from this War OF Terror when will it all stop, were sick of runin ur war”. I am sure many would have other pertinent questions to ask of the UK Foreign Secretary today
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Jun 19, 2010    |       17 comments

Who is The Terrorist?

Guest Blog by Zeeshan Khan

She crouches in a corner of her humble abode
Fear writ large in her light brown eyes
In her heart she cries out to the world,
“How much more will we be terrorized?”

There has to be something about the term ‘Terrorism’ which makes it the most misused term in recent history in my opinion. Whoever feels like it, picks it up, chews it into a thousand particles and spits it out to be then picked up by another and abused likewise.

Many debate and articulate what “terror” means? Can we, with our safety-bubble lifestyles even come close to understanding what it means? You switch to the news everyday, witness scenes of “blood curdling horror” and human limbs scattered on pavements like nonentities. You shake your head in pity then switch the channel to find out who is the latest “American idol”!

Ask the little girl crouched in a corner, palms pressed tight against her ears to muffle out the screams and firing. Ask the young woman who stares defenselessly at the approaching group of bulky men. Ask those people what terror is, who jumped off the World Trade Center on the ill-fated morning of September 11. My point is that without knowing the essence of this all-encompassing term, great powers, intellectual giants and so-called religious bodies alike use it to promote their own vested interests.
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