The last time we showed some signs of life as a nation was during the lawyers’ movement for reinstatement of CJP. Once again, the time seems to be ripe for a strong push to topple the status quo (girti deewar ko aik dhakka aur do). There is no shortage of pied pipers begging to lead us to the Promised Land. But, save a few, all are tried, tested and failed
General elections are just around the corner (hopefully) and most of the discussions in the media and among the masses are occupied by two themes: disenchantment with the way things are and skepticism about any change in the future. However, there is a relatively new phenomenon that may prove to be a challenge for the political dinosaurs (or predators) in our country. I’m referring to the use of social media
Wikipedia is a good source of getting superficial information on anything. Besides, whenever you Google a word or a phrase, be it related to anything, the first few links that it will show, will surely either have a Wikipedia page about it on the top or at number two or three in the links that will come up in the search results. One cannot say that Wikipedia is entirely reliable
As you all know – or should know – by now, the Supreme Court of Pakistan has found our beloved Prime Minister, Yousuf Raza Gilani, guilty for contempt of court because he did not send a letter to the Swiss authorities to reopen the corruption cases against our, even more beloved, President Asif Ali Zardari. Everybody knew it was coming of course. However what everybody was hoping for was an
The President of Pakistan is constitutionally the head of the state. The recently passed 18th Amendment has restored Pakistan’s government system as democratic, whereby the President is chosen by the Electoral College, which consists of the Senate, National Assembly, and the provincial assemblies, for a five-year term. Thus, the President of Pakistan is truly a complete representative figure in the government having the highest authority to run the government. The
Before I start on this topic, I would like to make it clear that I admire Imran Khan and believe that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf is the party to look out for in the next elections. I also believe that it is the only party that might actually be able to bring about some real, desirable change. Will my predictions come true? We’ll have to wait and see. Now that that’s out
Some time ago, I was engaged in a small discussion with a Lebanese man while sitting in Makkah waiting for prayers. Upon telling him I was a Pakistani, he proclaimed, ‘Oh! You mean Indian! Their women wear sarees and nose pins and your women do the same. Both of you speak Urdu, share the same music and have similar cultural dances. It’s the same thing’. An Arab, Moroccan and an
Who knows better than a Pakistani about traffic jams that get suffocating and horrid as soon as a VIP decides to saunter their way down the town with their battalion of guards and various onlookers. In simple words, we know how much discomfort we face when a high class politician or celebrity makes a point of visiting a public venue. Lahore, Islamabad, Peshawar, Karachi and other cities witness this discriminating
“All I was thinking was that I had to detonate myself near as many people as possible. When I decided it was the right time, it was a moment of happiness for me,” chilling words from a 14 year old suicide bomber who was involved in a suicide attack in the first week of April 2011, at the Sakhi Sarwar shrine in Punjab. This attack killed at least 41 people
While felicity takes hold of much of the world at the death of Osama bin Laden, Pakistani seems to be getting sucked deeper into a quicksand of worry, confusion, distrust and more mayhem. There is a need to understand the general sentiment of the Pakistani nation now that the world’s official attention has been directed at the country. While there are several groups that protest the death of Osama bin