The Tale of Two Men

There was a man who was born in a middle class family. He rose to excellence and became world famous. Human race owes him much due to his contributions. One of the brilliant minds of twentieth century, he brought to us not only national prides and honors but also made possible for thousands of other Pakistanis to earn respects and titles. 100s of people from Pakistan get their PhDs every year due to the efforts he made for them when he was alive. I am talking about Dr. Abdus Salam. Dr. Abdus Salam is the first and only Pakistani who is a Nobel laureate. He is also one of the founders of PAEC and contributed a lot in nuclear program of Pakistan. He also established many other programs, which have made possible for Pakistan earn many endeavors that could never be achieved otherwise. Abdus Salam International Centre forTheoretical Physics (ICTP) in Italy, founded by Dr. Abdus Salam provides scholarships to hundreds of students from third world countries for their PhDs, every year. His most significant contribution is the Salam-Weinberg theory of weak forces that now made possible the discovery of Higgs Boson: the last missing link of theory of universe.

In the defense of Dr. Pervez Hoodbhoy

Recent Capital Talk show has spread serious discomfort among few people about Dr. Pervez Hoodbhoy, as evident by their comments on the videos. I just want to clear few points. I agree with what Dr. Sb said to that quack in the show. Before starting abusing Dr. PH because of his behaviour in the show, I wonder what one shows by his own language.

If anybody on a National TV comes and tells lies and you listen to those lies and defend them vehemently and believe on them so religiously that anybody who is disagreeing, is a pimp to you; that surely is a proof of insanity in the society and needed to be addressed. When a person defies basic laws of physics and chemistry, any physicist and chemist can get hyper. A person who does not know difference between Voltage and Current, can he be called an engineer? As simple as that!!!

The Profound Misogyny

Today we have with us a much-esteemed guest, Dr. Naseem Khan Qureshi. Dr. Qureshi is a regional coordinator of an iNGO, Protection of Women Rights and Feminine Empowerment (PWRFE). He has completed his Doctorate in Biology from ABC University of UK. He has been associated with the iNGO since last 15 years and has worked for different projects all over Pakistan. Today we will speak with him about his personal life experiences and his ideas about contemporary affairs.

Akif Khan (AK): Welcome Sir, hope you are doing well.

Dr. Naseem Khan Qureshi (DKQ): You should have started with Assalam o Alaikum. See if educated people like yourself won't commensurate with our religion, then what about the poor illiterate souls of our country?

Ramzan: Month of Compassion or Aggression?

Every culture has its own specific ways to greet and celebrate a particular event. Pakistanis have their own ways to do this. And this greeting has also become a certain type of culture. All over the world Muslims observe holy month of Ramzan with religious devotion. This religious devotion again varies with culture but sometimes it becomes rather a deconstructive contamination of spirituality and a complete u-turn from the essence of the worship.

My Ugly Children

The misery of our understanding and the passion of our self supposed beliefs haunt us like a permanently residing spirit within us. Often, tending to believe in our conclusions in firmness, we completely ignore the facts of life and the limitations of our environment. We turn blind to the fact that the biases we harbor in our minds are based on our narrow visions and not on our “great” knowledge. This ignorance composing our chosen selective dementia and alter egos, leaves a great impact on the society without an iota of realisation by us.

Of Reason and Heresy!

This article was published in the June, 2012 issue of The Rationale, Monthly. *

Immanuel Kant once said, “A categorical imperative would be one which represented an action as objectively necessary in itself, without reference to any other purpose.” For a person who believes in reason, this objectivity is mostly based on his analytical mindset, which comprehends the situation, analyse the variables, calculate the impact of the thing he concludes and then states his conclusion. However, a difficult situation arises when others counter this conclusion without much thought just for the sake of defending their dogmas.

US-Pak Duo: The right to beg

This article was published in Express Tribune Blogs and can be seen here. http://blogs.tribune.com.pk/story/11691/us-pak-ghairatmand-pakistans-right-to-beg/

Sixty years have been passed, since U.S. and Pakistan are in liaison. These six decades have seen many ups and downs in this association. History witnessed pompous public welcomes of leaders of both countries at each other’s places and also watched hatred-filled rallies against each other. But this is also a fact that both countries have proved beneficial to each other throughout this period. Keeping conspiracy theories aside, U.S. has been investing much in the economic and educational development of Pakistan.

The Midnight Crisis - (An excerpt) Page ***

CHAPTER XI

(FALLING FOR LOVE, WAITING FOR HONESTY)

"I feel like a baby who longed for Moon, and when he got there, he couldn't breathe, he was alone and scared. And everyone on earth was laughing on the silly choice he had made." I exclaimed.

"You had the option Raphael, you got selfish, you thought you were making a sacrifice, now get through yourself, don't cry, you are not a baby anymore." Valeria's voice trembled in the noise of passing by train but I couldn't decide whether it vibrated due to noise or was she sentimental. What she said was not new to me and I knew she was right. But it did not hurt me this time as it always had before.

Munni badnaam hoi (And the Munni gets accursed)

Today I was reminded of a story written by a female university colleague of ours, back in university time.

The story's title was "Munni badnam hoi" and it was a narration of a  mother who enjoys her 3 years old son Abdullah singing this particular song and she does not stop her from doing this "immoral" act. Eventually at teenage, the boy turns into a real pain in a* for mother, and evolves into an indecent and stubborn guy, has a girlfriend, and go out with friends and does all the "immoral" activities he possibly has an access to. On this, a friend of the women tells her that it was because of the fact that she did not stop her from singing "Munni badnam hoi". This lead him to become a nuisance and a sinful young man.

If not Imran Khan, then who else?

I follow no aim in this case, so there is no question of any effort to sabotage any political campaign of Khan. To me he is a great cricketer of his times and a nice philanthropist. The dare he took in establishing first cancer hospital in Pakistan and an educational institution is worth-praising. But, there arise “buts” in his political position. I wonder still people think that one day they will wake up to find that I or people who have questions in mind about IK are the US lobbyists or alike, but Alas! That is highly improbable. Being a Pakistani I have equal right to feel concerns for my nation as do other people have and being a Pakistani one should be equally worried.

Losing my gears

Hassan Nisar at a TV Talk Show

There was a time, I remember, when we used to post respectable Hassan Nisar's views on society and religion. Those new and logical ideas made "The arrivals" and "constructive narrative" evaporate out of our heads. I even remember that whenever he used to opine in his challenging logical style, most of the people who are making him his hero now used to term him as Kaafir(Infidel). 99% of Imranists were of the view that he is a traitor and a RAW agent who does not acknowledge Ghaznavi or Ghauri as his heroes. A person who called written Islamic history a "BS" and who was always of the view that our society had become delusional by adopting fake fantasies and was always busy in cooking up conspiracies in its mind.

That one may smile, and smile, and be a villain

Akif Zeb and Munazah Yousaf

The volition is strongly enveloped in the name of past and future. The appraisal has been nullified. Looking into the eyes and the frown on the face of their masters that do not match the grin on their cold lips, the scapegoats could not remember the line of hamlet, "One may smile and smile, and be a villain.."

Like the Claudius who is addressed here; the most evil person who usurps his brother's(hamlet's father)  throne and remarries the king's wife and hamlet's mother, their masters sustain the same evil grin and usurps each others' thrones and occupy each others'  possessions in an abhorring manner. The scapegoats are innocent and unaware of the frailty of their so-called guardian angels, the leaders. The difference is only one in the both scenarios, that the Kings in their system are as corrupt as the Claudius is.

Live with the three musketeers, Afpak-US!

It was quite a pleasure to watch the interesting interview of Hamid Karzai conducted by Saleem Safi on a popular private Pakistani TV network. The pleasure was to see the positive attitude of Mr. Karzai while expressing his feeling about Pakistan. In his comments he claimed to back Pakistan if it wars with US. These comments of his, stirred quite a controversy in the international media, even US law makers were stunned by this moment. However, if one watches with attention, he can fairly assume that Mr. Safi used his wits to corner somewhat emotional side of brotherhood of both nations. The comment was inevitable and just and not so intense that it can force 3 nations to change their foreign policies. Great expectations, hopes and fears are unnecessary to attach with this casual interview. At those moments he was seemingly more angry but loving brother, proposing a natural and emotional personal view, that can be called, to be on the safe side. However this cannot become basis of a complete U-turn of policies and strategies of all three stake holders (US, Pakistan and Afghanistan). This brings the far fetched happiness associated with the event to an unrealistic view.

KESC Letter to its consumers regarding the nuisance created by some people

Dear Customers, As you are all aware of the grave situation KESC has been facing for the past over 2 months. Hostile attacks on people and property and threats by union miscreants have crippled company’s operations. Despite all odds KESC’s management, officers and workers have been relentlessly working day in and day out for the relief and comfort for the people of Karachi. However, we have now reached a unfortunate point where continuing field operations and repair and maintenance work, in the absence of law enforcement and protection of our people and other assets is no longer possible. KESC has gone beyond the call of duty in the most dangerous of situations, but some of the recent incidents, especially those on July 20, 2011 suggest that our lives are gravely endangered, especially where law enforcement seems to be siding with the offender.

Defending a truth

Sticking to a famous quotation stating that one should be seeking truth and accept it, no matter which source it comes from, is hard to practice and handle in our society.

It is often a miserable situation when the same clashes with people's presumptuous and perceived mindsets and you have to prove it feeling defensive of a big offending lie. You can never, offcourse, question the lie, either way.

There are always some universal moral and ethical values that unfortunately are never understood. Our society in specific, when criticized, raise fingers on the person making him guilty of proposing something relatively considered as an alien model inspired from a foreign culture. The problem gets worsen when one has not only to spread a good view but also to defend it.

We have already rejected the ideal morals proposed by our religions, now when they are shaped as developed civilized models, we hardly find them charming on the view that they clash with our divine teachings.

The Killing of a young boy, The brutality in the state of denial

A young man, named Sarfraz had been shot down by Rangers publicly on the eve of 8th June, in Benazir Bhutto Park, Boat Basin area of Karachi. He was involved in a crime according to Mr. Rehman Malik, Interior Minister. The rangers stated that he was killed in an encounter.

Those who have seen the video of this incident, captured by public present there, must'v observed the encounter. The encounter with a helpless, empty handed boy, student of 10th class. Well, if he was involved in a crime (looting as mentioned), how does this crime renders him executable in public by a ranger? Is there no legislation in country, does the constitution allows people to show this brutality on their own will? The poor soul was shot in  was left bleeding to death.

The humanity and sensibility must'v mourned over the cold bloodedness of 5 Rangers standing there. I recall the brutality on the face of killer when he fired from his G5, another person holding the boy from his hair. They seemed least human to me. These are saviors of public, but public needs saviors to save them from these people.