The Gold Medalist

Pakistan generally known for all the wrong rea son finally has something to cheer about. After a disappointing run in the World Cup earlier this year in which they finished last and a 6th place in the Commonwealth Games held in India, it took a very concerted effort and a fair bit of luck to rise to the occasion and become the Asian Champions. This win also ensures Pakistan a place in the 2012 London Olympics.
It was 20 years ago in China when Pakistan lifted gold in Beijing. This time it was Guangzhou where Pakistan produced a spectacular stick show to win the gold medal with a final score of 2-0, defeating Malaysia. This is the eighth time Pakistan has been crowned Asian Champions. Also with this victory Pakistan ended a 16-year dry run in the major championships.
Pakistan entered the games with modest expectations, not really thinking of a cup victory. The majority of the fans back home were not even bothered to watch their team’s matches and even the media turned a blind eye towards them. The media declared it a lost cause when Pakistan suffered defeat at the hands of arch-rivals India. Luck was favoring Pakistan this time around though. The men in green won the next match to place a spot in the semi-finals. In the semi-finals played against South Korea, Pakistan surprised everybody with a win, all thanks to the unbelievable efforts of their goalkeeper, Salman Akbar who kept Pakistan’s hopes alive.
In the other semi-finals, their arch-rivals lost to the Malaysian side which was a huge upset even after a number of players on the Indian side shaved their heads, including Sikh player Baljit Singh as an offering to the gods for good luck. Even after their passage to the finals, critics were reluctant to call it in Pakistan’s favour saying that it might have to wait for another four years to taste victory.

Mother of all Crisis: Leadership crisis.

The increased frequency of terrorist attacks in Pakistan, particularly in Peshawar, has created an environment of fear and uncertainty within the country, thereby, achieving the primary objective of the extremists. Yet, on the flip side, there has been an upsurge of anti-Taliban sentiment.
These emotions have to be galvanised to further strengthen the peoples resolve to combat and eradicate militancy once and for all. The Pakistani people are seeking a leader to follow. At this moment, however, the ship is rudderless.
According to some estimates, in 2009 alone, over 1800 civilians and 800 security officials have been killed due to terrorist related incidents and the number of suicide attacks has crossed 60. After every incident, the ticker that runs at the bottom of the television screen on most news channels displays a message of condolence by the various leaders of the country, after which a certain fund is allocated and announced as compensation for the lost lives. The people need more.
Politicking on issues such as the NRO, a minus-one or two formula and the Kerry-Lugar Bill has taken precedence over providing the masses respite from their miseries. Even if the threat of terrorism, which has the potential of escalating into urban guerrilla warfare, cannot be eradicated in the near future there are numerous other issues that need urgent attention. 
Inflation is looming at an average of 22 percent despite government affirmations to the contrary. Cartels with strong lobbies within Parliament have manipulated the demand and supply graph of, amongst other things, staple foods, thereby, creating artificial shortages, and simultaneously, escalating prices. The stipulations behind the bailout IMF packages have resulted in soaring energy prices. Potential large-scale projects are being abandoned not because of security issue but because the prospective investors cannot afford the kickbacks being demanded by the authorities. According to Transparency International, Pakistan is now ranked as the 42nd most corrupt nation in the world. As a result, to add fuel to the fire, the job market is also constricting. 

Plane Crash in Karachi residential area.

 Pakistani officials say at least 12 people were killed when a Russian-made cargo plane crashed early Sunday in the country's southern city of Karachi.  

The Russian-made cargo plane crashed shortly after taking off from the Karachi airport.  Authorities say a technical fault may have caused the deadly accident.

A spokesman for Pakistan's Civil Aviation Authority, Pervaiz George, says the aircraft was transporting relief supplies to Sudan's capital, Khartoum.

"It took off from Karachi [airport] at 1:45 a.m. in the morning [local time] and as it took off with eight crew members it caught fire and immediately it crashed," he said.

The spokesman says that all eight Russian crew members died. Their mutilated bodies have been recovered from the plane's wreckage.    

The cargo aircraft crashed into a housing complex for naval officers.  Most of the buildings were under construction and believed to be unoccupied.  Authorities say there were several casualties on the ground and that the death toll was likely to increase.

Witnesses say they saw one of the engines on fire before the plane hit the ground. An investigation is underway but the spokesman, Pervaiz George, says the pilot did not communicate any problems to the control tower at Karachi airport.

"There was no conversation regarding this incident or regarding any problem in the aircraft, regarding any problem in the engine," he added.

This was the third plane accident in Pakistan in four months and the second aircraft to crash after taking off from Karachi in several weeks.

A small passenger plane carrying workers of an Italian oil company crashed in Karachi earlier this month shortly after taking off from the airport. All 21 people on board, including crew members, were killed in that accident.

In July, this year, a passenger plane coming from Karachi crashed in the mountains near the capital city of Islamabad, killing 152 people on board.

Both the incidents are under investigation.

Shilpa Shetty thrilled by wedding anniversary gift

she may be under the weather lately, but hubby Raj Kundra pulled out all the stops to make his first wedding anniversary with Shilpa Shetty an unforgettable one.

What gift could Shilpa have hoped for? Her expectations were bypassed by several notches when Raj reportedly gifted her an apartment in Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, the tallest tower in the world.

Apparently, Shilpa was bowled over by the awesomeness of Burj Khalifa when she visited Dubai a few months back. Hubby Raj kept that in mind and just a few days before the wedding anniversary he handed over to her the keys of a flat on the 90th floor of the 160 storey sky-scrapper. 

The Life is beautiful because of Uncertainty

Life is the gift of God, and it is more beautiful because of the uncertainty and unpredictable, It seems that we love the mysterious. It is the journey to the unending station and this thing keeps us moving. We worship God because of Uncertainty. If God would have been visible, and if destination would have been told then there wouldn't have been religion, we might not be thankful to God.

This fear and hope exists because of blind faith, We accept the supremacy of Divine, because we are not certain of our own calculations, we are not aware of the human calculated based consequences, we are defeated more often from the destiny, the script already written for our life.

This uncertainty drives us, teaches us and make us more rational human being, when our decisions are bad we learn from them, Lets assume about someone who is born and he knows everything about him already, what charm would be then here in this world ?

Unpredictability of life makes it more beautiful and it is due to the our behavior which has irregularities in its pattern, We lose even our best friend because of small fights, The experience becomes vital when there exists the element of uncertainty. We learn all the time, from our mistakes, decisions, friends, failed relationships and other failures.

“Uncertainty and mystery are energies of life. Don't let them scare you unduly, for they keep boredom at bay and spark creativity.”

1973 Constitution and Pakistan

1973 constitution is (was) a sacred national document, which could only be amended by the parliament under a defined procedue! Any deviation from this was a huge mistake, which was to adversely affect the nation as was proved by the later events. The constitution is the very legitimacy of the state; otherwise, it becomes a mob which is only held together by the force - which is the least desired phase in the life of the nations - because it compromises the future of the country, and unnecesarily generates tensions within the nation - which may not lend to the resolution easily in the future.

All the challenges faced by nationafter 1973  were to be resolved through the mechanisms contained in the constittution; and, if some issues could not be addressed by the constittution, these were to be potponed, till the party in power had acheived necessary strength in the parliament to amend the constitution. There was no need to bulldoze the document, because that meant bulldozingthe nation - and all the ills that it entailed in the future!

If we go backto the start, we took all the time to produce the first genuine constitution in 1973, till then the country had already broken apart! We held first free and fair Eelections after 23 years, which led to the results, which broke the country! Before that many free and fair electiins could have been held in the country, which could have estabished stakes of Bengalis into the system, so that they did not have any reason to look out of Pakistan, later! But this route was not chosen by the then rulers, even they did not have the required national mandate not to do so!

 We continue to repeat the same mistakes by way of not establishing the stakes of the smaller provinces into the country, which could pre-empt any centrufugal tendecies in the smaler provinces, both today and tomorrwo. We fail to distrubute the power and resources satisfactorily and equitably among the provinces, creating unnecessary resentment, without addressing which, we can not lay down the poltical basis for sustained, high gowth of the economy! 18th amendment, instead of taking it as a God - send has been subjected to ruthless examination, which was not needed.

As a result of above, the fruits of development have not been distributed evenly across the country, without addressing which, neither can we addrss the challenges of the nation building, nor can we lay down the strutural basis of sustained high growth of the economy . Without addressing the issues and challenges mentioned above, we will not be able to overcome the enemies for which we won independence from the British and Hindus in the first place! Those enemies of Pakistan are: poverty, hunger, malnutrition, disease and ignorance, who will continue to make the  mockery of the independence!

Sachin Tendulkar: The Little Master

Sachin Tendulkar was born on 24th April, 1973. He is great batsman ever born in the history of Cricket. He started cricket in streets and then he became the icon of cricket for the youngsters of India. He is been given the titles of 'Master Blaster', 'Little Champion' and 'The Bombay Bomber' by the commentators. I am impressed by the stamina, consistency and way he handles the pressures.

In these two decades, this man has been amazing cricketer, the non-stop performances for his country in the very big matches, He hold the record of making the highest centuries, highest runs and recently he made the world record of the first person to make the 200 runs in the ODI's. 

He is real sportsman, he has been captain of Indian Cricket Team with wonderful track record, What surprises me all time about him is his fitness and consistency, He plays the pressure matches against some big teams so effortlessly and with unique style along with timing the ball perfectly. He is the symbol for cricket, When we talk about cricket, We'll talk about Sachin's classic batting. It took two decades for him break the Saeed Anwar's record of 194, the highest ever by batsman in ODI. He has the record of highest runs in ODI and test matches, He also holds the record of having the highest centuries in test and ODI.

Pakistan Match Fixing Scandal

As a sports fan, to see cricket dragged through the mud like this is an absolute disgrace. I would also put it out there and say that this seems to be a common theme on the subcontinent as well (with the IPL seeing allegations of spot-fixing as well).

Ever since the suncontinent became the most powerful bloc in the game of cricket, morals have steadily slipped to the point that this sort of stuff could occur. Of course, if India and Pakistan got over their issues to enable the Pakistanis to play in the IPL, maybe this sort of thing simply wouldn't happen.

This is simply not good enough and something has to give

So here it is, plain and simple

Pakistan for the good of the game must be thrown out of World Cricket for an undisclosed period of time. Sure this would be rubbish for the development of the game in that country but look at the facts

1. Teams can't travel to Pakistan anyway due to the security situation in that country
2. Everytime something like this has occured recently, it's always been Pakistan involved

As far as I can see, the game in Pakistan is corrupt and rotten from the top, down and frankly it is time for change. Anyone that is corrupt should be sacked or forced to resign in disgrace and any player found guilty of match-fixing should be banned for life.

It will more than likely set Pakistan back 20 years or whatever but that's the price they should have to pay for their stupidity

World cricket is fast losing credibility and the only way that credibility and respect can be regained is if the subcontinent way of doing business (threats, bloc voting and match fixing) comes to an end.

The IPL (Indian Premier League) is corrupt and the ICC (International Cricket Council) have their hands tied by the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) and as for the PCB (Pakistan Cricket Board), they need to start again.

Whatever way you look at it, it's a sad day for cricket...

Terrorism and Mother tongue

Terrorrism is the biggest phenomenon of tthe contemperory Pakistan and has affected every facet of current life of the nation and is impacting advesely upon the future prospects of the nation. The question, which is relevent to ask, is why this thing has spread with such a force in the country, selectively in the length and breadth of it. One obvisious answer is the state sponsored introduction of a particular brand of terrorrism which was used to serve the  purpose of producing Talban for American use in Afghanistan in the 1980s, securing Zia's regime by way of hunting down libeal political forces in the country in those days, helping Saudia to have a sense of security at home by way of spreading their tentacles in the Muslim world, through the spread of a particular brand of Islam.

But why this phenomenon spread selectively in Pakistan in the sense that frormer NWFP fell completely under it's sway; next was Punjab with massive inroads in its South; and Sindh and Balochistan remained relatively unaffected, except Pakhtoon belt of the latter - though intellectual and ideological support of the phenomenon continued to come from urban centres of Pakistan including karachi. One reson for this is that in Sindh medium of education was Sindhi and Urdu, both mother tongues of the two major communities of the provoince, that's Sindhi speaking and Urdu speaking people.

From above it is easy to conclude that those people, who are taught in their mother tongue,  imbibe their cultural values with it,  which are  not easy to overwhem by the mechanations, which the state used in the times of Zia to spread this form of Islam. From the same it is easy to arrive at the conclusion that if the people of  Punjab and KP  had been taught in their mother tongues- the poetry and culture as enunciated by  Baba bulleh shah and Rehman baba and Khushal khan khattak -  it was not possible for these people to easily fall prey to the propaganda of a Moulvi!

But thses people were taught in Urdu,  which was equally foreign to them,  therefore the values of these peope broke down under the onslaught of a well orchestrated propaganda and they lent themselves to the business of Talbans to kill an to crush.

 If  the people in Sindh, which has emerged unscathed in this mushroom growth of sectarian form of religion, are deprived of virtues of tolerance, which are simply bubbling through each couplet of Shah latif, Sachal and Sami and scores of others, then they would also have fallen to this virulent propaganda in exchange of promise of paradize, which is not a bad bargain for an uneducated or semi educted person going through the drudgery of life on daily basis!

Same holds true for the Urdu speaking part of Sindhis where the followers of Ghalib and Mir did not succumb to the religious propaganda and did not lend themselves to the process of sucide jackets and bomb blasts. Thanks to it's culture and values, as imbibed by people of Sindh through their mother tongue, predomonnantly sindhi, sufi sindh stood for tolerance, side ny side with the whole world - some times even ahead of every body, where the sanctity of human life and it's inviolable status was steadfastly heldonto by the people of Sindh -  as if they were ahead of the vrirulence around them, despite their personal lives, which the state had failed to improve!

NRO- Justice for All or what ??

Supreme Court of Pakistan gave detailed judgement, unanimously signed by 17 judges, largest bench ever in the history of Pakistan's judiciary. It would affect the political scenerio in the form of more pressure on President Zardari, there are more than 7000 criminal and political cases on all the important figures of all the political parties including PML-N and MQM. Why the reference of Swiss accounts is given? Supreme court has never been independent in real sense, This democratic government restored the judiciary in real sense, despite of open reservations of President, The one who thinks they have restored judiciary, they were the one who abuse SC in past, in the form of attack on Justice Sajjad Ali shah's judiciary.
Supreme court should redefine the justice for the layman like me, first of all why justice now ?? After all that, why not justice against the corrupt judiciary of Dogar which supported all the acts of dictator, uncontitutional acts. Why justice against the President, who came with highest seats in NA and in the era of strongest Prime Minister, in the rule of people of Pakistan.
President is being victimised by press and Judiciary, despite of following the rule of reconciliation and national Politics, one could not imagine the aliance of PPP and PML-N and MQM and PPP in Sindh, this was un-natural sort of aliance, before charter of democracy signed by Benazeer and Nawaz Sharif.
We have seen sacrifice of benazir, her assasination was a catalyst to democracy, now they talk about Justice? I have feeling that judiciary is part of those invisible hands like establishment, which is supporting anti-demoractiic forces.
While making a report on Jail System in Central Jail of Karachi, One of the beurocrate, who claim to be innocent, whose appeal didnt came in consideration , and after 5 years he was given death sentence, just because son of latif khoso was his lawyer, Justice Iftikhar is baised and believes in selective justice against anti-forces, based on his personel jusgement.
Where was SC, when Asif Ali Zardari was in jail for more than 8 years and no one could prove anything against him, They talk about Swiss Accounts, Why they dont talk about trial against Musharraf and his devilish acts, why dont they talk about Shaukat Aziz' Corruption. Why dont they talk about Balochistan, when they talk about Justice.NRO was step towards a democratic setup order to get rid dictator, there;s no doubt PPP is party of federation and People from sindh has complete right to say NO to Pakistan, like balochistan.
Aitzaz Ahsan, soon after restoration of SC, stated in the press conference: " CJP in my opinion, will not take NRO case", The CJP not only leading the bench but also written by Ifthakar choudhry...We are in serious trap of Judicial dictator, in the complexities of constitutional crises, We will lose democracy again, The conditions are worse, Pakistan is at war, we must change this attitude of pushing eachother's legs.
Ifhtikar Chowdhry is addicted to the power and trying to do heroic things by spoiling democractic system, what will be result of such revolutionary desicions, the poor man will not be affected by case against any politician and what is the assurance that they will be guilty,will politicians accept their crimes ??

Corruption exists in our veins, at some extend it is socially accepted in Pakistan, Politician means corrupt, Judiciary has gain higher respect, by doing these things, it will lose its credibility, judiciary should look at te lower level, common people and it should provide justice to the people of Pakistan.
All the major politicans have acquired the current status by doing bad things, but they are accepted by people, and they are successfully elected in the provincial and National assemblies. Intervention of judiciary will bring disaster in the democratic 

Million years logic.

Imagine compressing the last million years of human history into just one year. Three thousand years would pass each day, or two years each minute. On this compressed timescale, our ancestors first used fire sometime in spring. Despite this early breakthrough, new ideas were slow to arrive on the scene. Until late October, our ancestors were still wielding the most basic stone tools; humans biologically like us, Homo sapiens, appeared around mid-November. About 19-December, the beginnings of civilizations were visible: cave paintings and burial sites. It wasn’t until 27 December that there was much evidence of sewing needles, spear-throwers, or the bow and arrow. We don’t know much about our economic prehistory, but we know that it was story with all the action packed into the final scene.
But economic growth didn’t simply different gear once we entered recorded history. Zoom in on those last few days and you’ll see that the rate of innovation and growth continued speed up. The world economy was ten times larger at the end of 30 December than twenty-four hours earlier, a time span bridged by the epic rule of the Egyptian pharaohs. Imperial China lasted for most of 31 December, during which time the Roman Empire rose and fell, and Europe then moved through the middle Ages. Meanwhile, the size of the world economy increased in size another ten times between the star of New Year’s Eve and 7.30 p.m. and 11.20 p.m., when the First World began.
That growth was astonishing by historical standards, but puny by the standards of the twentieth century, because in the last forty minutes- the rest of the twentieth century- the world economy expanded tenfold yet again. If current growth rates are sustained, the next tenfold increase will be completed by about twenty-five past midnight.
There might not seem to be any rational explanation as to why economics growth took off in such dramatic way. If you credit anything, I suspect you’d be inclined to a point to the people who embody scientific and technological genius: Galileo and Curie, New cowmen and Edison. But leaving it at that would make the take-off a matter of pure luck: luck that we live after such brilliant minds and not before them, and luck that their achievements fell upon a fertile culture was open to innovation.
I will argue that stellar economic growth across the globe. Whether you look at the individual innovators or step back and survey the broad sweep of economic growth all the way back to the Paleolithic era, you find a common thread: neither progress not stagnation is an accident. Both rapidly growing economies and stuttering ones are full of individuals rationally responding to the incentives they face.
This is detective story, and as it takes us further and further into the past, it will necessarily become speculative. I’ll begin by looking at the work of economist who tried to recreate old technologies in an effort to workout how much richer have really become- a surprisingly difficult question. Then I’ll uncover evidence to show that the moment of ‘take-off’, the Industrial revolution, wasn’t based on scientific genius at all, but rather on rational, carefully planned responses to simple economic incentives.
The search of economic incentives then leads us to ask why some countries were fertile ground for economic revolution. I argue that the answer lies in the age of European exploration and conquest – not, as is often believed, because the exploitation of Africa and the New World directly enriched Europe, but because the very strong interest in creating laws and institutions that provided incentives for economic growth. Speculative stuff, as I say, even if it is based on some ingenious work, still, I do not want to finish this book by proclaiming all the answers, but by showing that economists are asking the right questions.
Before we start our journey into the past, though, perhaps you’re thinking that it’s hard to estimate economic growth for all of human prehistory and much of human history. You’d be correct. So perhaps you’re also thinking that this tale of incredible growth acceleration sounds a bit wild-eyed. You’d be wrong.
In fact, my estimate of growth is conservative because it doesn’t take full account of the way that the quality of products is improving. When economists try to compare our material standard of living with that of our predecessors, they have to calculate the extent to which prices have changed. A dollar in 1900 brought more than a dollar today – how much more? Its an impossible comparison, because we don’t spend our money on the same things as we did in 1900.

Terror in Karachi

Karachi was rocked with a huge explosion at about 8.30pm when a truck full of explosives hit the Crime Investigation Department (CID) building. The terrifying sound that was heard at a radius of 15 kilometers was also heard at my home at boat basin when the windows of my home opened and closed making a terrifying sound due to the heavy wind pressure caused by the powerful blast. At that very instant, I knew it was a bomb blast. I rushed to watch updates on the television after getting SMS from a few friends with “Blast near PIDC” in it, the scenes of television were heart breaking. My beloved country was yet victim to another act of terrorism that has plagued its economy.

The blast was so intense that people in Nazimabad and Mazar-e-Quaid also heard it and the earthquake recording authorities claim to have recorded it at a magnitude of 1.3. Surely was huge as nearby building were damaged, about 12 houses succumbed to rubbles, the complete front portion of the head office of the CID building was flattened, 2 huge craters were made in the ground, several cars in the busy area were moved from their positions in the traffic jams to hit other cars on the side, 21 people killed and about 115 injured. The bomb disposal experts say around 1,000 kg explosives were used in the blast.

The blast was said to be a reaction to the arrest of 6 people of the banned Lashkar-e-Jhangvi that were present at that time in the CID office for interrogation and after the blast, witnesses say that some terrorists may have escaped. Similar to the previous attacks such as the Marriot blast in Islamabad, this attack too involved heavy firing before the blast. However, this time the area of blast was a very crucial one. The Red zone is location to the Chief Ministers house, Governor’s House, Qasr-e-Naz, three luxury hotels, the US consulate and governments, etc. 

Blasts have become a common thing is Pakistan as the frequency of their occurrence has increased steadily over time. However, the losses of innocent lives is an irreparable loss and a pain their families have to live with for long. The frequency of such attacks has made lives of the common man highly insecure.Strict measures are needed to curb this menace of terrorism from society and value human lives as providing security to it's citizens is the duty of the state and the measures for this on part of the state yet needs serious attention.

Pakistani Media and the changing Social Structure...

It is the clear cut thing that Pakistani Media is more powerful than ever today and its affects have been positive and negative on the public as a whole, In the Musharraf's Era the freedom of expression to the media and I would accept that He bear the criticism of domestic and international media with boldness.

We must also see the impact of the freedom given to the media, The Political analysts have been thought molding for the common man, who are not properly educated either. This mind manipulation is very dangerous for the people of Pakistan, whose every vote counts as public opinion. The public opinion has been also used as the tool of triggering the pressure on the Government. 

The dynamics of politics have changed, Media has been support for the opposition these days, Since 2001 When Pervaiz Musharraf gave the freedom to Media initially, all the anchors just criticize the government, I don't remember watching any news that praises the government.

We must also see whether this opinion based journalism will make some difference in the choices of the masses, can it affect the behavior of the masses, May be after two decades People might realize that the governments or the parties whom they have voted are not making any difference because democracy demands better system with the passage of time, People will demand for more rights, more justice and better quality of life.

There have been two motives of the movement so far as I understand, (a) to address the issues to the masses regarding corruption and everything or simple reporting for the sake of awareness and (b) to bring change by rectifying the current policies, but we don't see this happening, this is how media has been everywhere, even in USA the media is helpless, government has to do what it does, then its only taking the new issues and forgetting the old ones and just hating the government all the time, this has been frustrating. I hope the media does something good for the people of Pakistan and for the existing corrupt system.

Movie Review: Peepli Live

lets get to the point. The movie is slow, quite slow and may not appeal to the mass audience. It seems to have been made more in accordance with satisfying critics rather than the regular movie-goer. Natha (Das) is an average farmer from Peepli, a village in central India, and has taken a loan from a bank against his farmland. He is unable to pay off the debt and the local landlord, Bhai Thakur (Panchal) suggests to Natha that he commit suicide because the government would pay his family a sum of Rs 1 lac after he dies as compensation. Natha's brother, Budhia (Yadav) manages to convince Natha that he should commit suicide because it would benefit the entire family. The local newspaper reporter, Rakesh (Nowaz) overhears Natha's plan to kill himself and realises this could be a big story and informs his head office in New Delhi. Word spreads like fire and before anyone knew it, Peepli became a village of commotion and nuisance with political parties and newspaper, reporters hunting down Natha for their own greed. The movie has satirical humour and is very different from conventional media. Aamir Khan has done a commendable job in putting forward a message but has failed to entertain the regular audience. The movie is plagued with rural slang, profanity and sarcasm which makes it a good laugh once in a while. Not a single actor is a known face in the industry and most of the movie was shot in actual villages with actual villagers or lesser known artists playing the major roles. The humour is inconsistent but Natha's mother, Amma (Jaffar) takes the cake in really making you laugh. Don't go if you wish for entertainment, but is a critics delight.

New exciting phone from by Nokia

C3’s 2.4-inch screen, which clocks in at 320 x 240 pixels, is both crisp and bright. It’s not brilliant, and it won’t win any prices but it’s significantly better than the screens we’ve seen on some mid-range devices, which cost a couple of hundred quid more – and this is definitely a good thing! Kudos, Nokia.

The Nokia C3 has Opera Mini built-in as its browser of choice and, while Opera’s performance varies from handset to handset, we have to give the Nokia C3 credit as it worked a treat for basic browsing with Opera Mini’s click-to-zoom function more than compensating for the Nokia C3’s frankly awful navigation key.

There’s also the Ovi Store, which as you’d expect is jam-packed with games and apps that you can download, such as Snaptu, which links all your social networking shizz together on one place.

The Nokia C3 also has three customisable widgets on its homescreen, we used Mail, Facebook and Twitter – although there are plenty more combinations. We found this to be an ideal set up as all the important stuff – so: email, Facebook accounts and Twitter – we all in once place and could be checked with a simple glance.

However, there is a rather annoying delay, where the Nokia C3 cuts to a Nokia Communities screen and then asks you which Wi-Fi connection you’d like to use, before you’re taken to the Facebook page, which takes, roughly, about 10 seconds.

That said, the Twitter widget is pretty awful – so if you’re a Twitter fiend, you might want to look around for an alternative. But overall, the set-up on the homescreen is more than adequate and will easily satisfy the needs of someone that’s not to fussed about cramming their device full of paid-for apps and games.

In terms of storage, the Nokia C3 has a lot. The device comes with a 2GB microSD card and can handle up to 16GB, so you’ve got more than enough room for your music. It also supports practically every form of audio – MP3/WAV/WMA/eAAC – under the sun, so there should be no issues with playback.

Possibly the most impressive aspect of the Nokia C3 is its Qwerty keyboard, which is, literally, amazing to type on. The keys are perfectly spaced and the material is soft to the touch, which means typing long emails and texts is an absolute breeze.

All this is in Rs 11,000. 

About Javed Chaudhry

Javed Choudhry  is a newspaper columnist in Pakistan. His series of columns have been published in four volumes in Urdu language. His most notable column 'Zero Point' has great influence upon people of Pakistan especially Youth and Muslims of Pakistan. He writes for the Urdu newspaper Daily Express four time a week, covering topics ranging from social issues to politics.

Javeed Choudhry  was born on January 1st, 1968 in Lalamusa , district of Gujrat, Pakistan. He received his degree in journalism from The Islamia University Bahawalpur. He has Four children and currently resides in Shahzad Town, Islamabad.
He started his career in journalism in 1989. He worked at Daily Nawa-i-Waqt, Daily Pakistan,Daily Ummat and Daily Khabrain before joining Daily Jang in 1997.

In January 2008, Javed Chaudhry joined Express News (Pakistan) as an anchorperson of a political Talk show “Kal Tak“, in which he analyses current affairs of Pakistan with guests from various think tanks and political parties.

Book Review: The Winner Stands Alone

I have always liked to read Coelho’s books and this one fell on the right track as well… Infact its one of my favourites books of all time now…

This is a book making the reader realize that being famous or rich is not an end in itself and that our society, although said to  be progressive, is leading people to riches, fame, success and yet taking everything away… It is stripping people of love, security, friendship in return for crisp notes of money, pretence of happiness and satisfaction, good business contacts and massive amounts of monetary profit… Afterall, money can’t buy a true love or a best friend… It can not buy peace of mind, happiness and content… Rather, it gets one stuck in a rut of always wanting more,doing better, climbing just one  more hill while the things and people that make our hearts jump are walking away right in front of our eyes…

It makes one really give life a thought and introspect to find the true contentment and happiness, showing that money, success and fame can’t give anyone everything they need… One interesting thing I find about all his books is that the importance of paying the price of your dreams…

It’s a great book that everyone should read because it is time we realize this on our own with the help of a good author and a good story…


"How can we be so arrogant? The planet is, was, and always will be stronger than us. We can't destroy it; if we overstep the mark, the planet will simply erase us from its surface and carry on existing. Why don't they start talking about not letting the planet destroy us? "
— Paulo Coelho The Winner Stands Alone

Affect of Political Uncertainty on Flood crisis.

One of the quality of the politicians is they have very bad memory. They think that people cry, suffer and forget. The international and Pakistani media appreciated the democratic representation of the people of Pakistan after the eight years of dictatorship. We also must not forget the sacrifices made to obtain this democracy. The people of Pakistan have always suffered more from the blunders of our leaders than from any natural disaster.

The recent flood in Pakistan is devastating and destructive. This is not only damaged the structure but we are also paying the heavy economical price, Our Economists are still figuring out the damage in this recent devastation.

Mr. Benjamin, Ex-President of Tanzania, who had said "you cannot build economic mansion on the political sand", The same is our problem, Perhaps we are relying too much on the wisdom of our politicians, I think it is the time now, We must learn now to draw a line. We have already lost everything; we cannot afford the further loss of paying the price of political uncertainty in the form of un-stable economy.

The Economical problems of the people should be addressed by the concerned authorities, they must be accountable to the people of Pakistan, Politicians have nothing to do with the economy matters, We must have an independent policy and decision making, free from any sort of political pressure and influence. This way at least we can restore the economy.

International World and MNC’s are funding billion dollars to Pakistan. If this money is mis-used now, we will lose our reputation and credibility in international world, our economic expert must form a policy, how this ‘huge’ amount will be distributed to the ‘flood victims’ through proper channel.

A layman earning daily wages don’t care about the political issues, the only thing that hurt and affect him is the economy. We can re-build this nation through economical strength. Economic progress is the biggest instrument of national integration; this would also bring multi-pluralism in our country.

Political uncertainty exists for an agenda and once the agenda is accomplished the political certainty is restored. Who should be accountable for these calculated moves?

The roots of this questions lies in history, we have never been sovereign state, There has always been governance ‘beyond curtains’, perhaps we might never know the names and faces of these people.

Violence against Women..How long ?

Honor victim Ayesha Baloch (R) sits inside a hospital with her mother in Multan, Pakistan, May 25, 2006. Baloch, 18, was dragged to a field, and as her brother-in-law held her down, her husband sat astride her legs and slit her upper lip and nostril with a knife.

Due to recent media attention, the problem of “honor killings” has come under increasing global scrutiny. In various countries throughout the world, particularly in the Middle East and parts of South Asia, women who bring dishonor to their families because of sexual indiscretions are forced to pay a terrible price at the hands of male family members. Attempted murder and other forms of corporal punishment have been reported. The most severe manifestations of punishment affect only a small percentage of women, even though the notion of family honor and shame is extremely important in most communities of the Muslim world. Women from other faith groups may also be subject to similar attitudes from within their own communities in those countries. Clearly, the prevailing view that devalues and belittles women is derived from sociocultural factors that are justified by a distorted and erroneous interpretation of religion, especially of Islam.

Islam is clear on its prohibition of sexual relationships outside of marriage. This prohibition does not distinguish between men and women, even though, in some countries, women are uniformly singled out for punishment of sexual crimes while the men, even rapists, may be treated with impunity. In order for a case to even be brought before a Muslim court, several strict criteria must be met. The most important is that any accusation of illicit sexual behavior must have been seen by four witnesses; and they must have been witness to the act of sexual intercourse itself. Other forms of intimacy do not constitute zina and therefore are not subject to any legal consequences even though they are not appropriate and are considered sinful.

Hope is all we have...

Today we mourn the loss of lives in a recent event that has occurred in Islamabad. Our fellow students - our fellow countrymen in fact, have died a painful death - Nay, they have been murdered. Innocents as they were, their lives are now lost. We speak to you today out of a humble need. A need to communicate, not to instigate you against others. We speak to you today to shed some light on our situation.

We now live in dark times. Our schools are being targeted; our educational institutions are being bombed. Today, it is our schools. Tomorrow it will be our Masajid. Maybe even our homes. If anyone remembers, this is how many states were brought down (like Afghanistan) - the schools were targeted, and once they were gone, illiteracy spread. With illiteracy came doubt.

The people did not know WHAT they were facing, much less WHO they were facing. So I ask you… I beg you today... don’t give up hope, don’t give in to their demands. Doing so will insult the memories of those that have died so recently. Our only way to win now, is to be the light in the age of darkness, and to do that, we have to become successful. Our only way to thwart those against us, is to deny them the satisfaction of knowing they have broken us down.

We also want to talk about the things that are dividing us. We plead to you today to set aside all your differences. Forget about you being a Karachite, or your friend being a Lahori, or a Kashmiri or a Sindhi or whatever. These things do not mater now. We should be united. In that aspect, forget all about Sindhi’s, Balochi’s, Pashtu’s, Kashmiri’s or Punjabis. Think of Pakistan as one big school. Think of all the Muslims as all the students.

Don’t panic around and don’t be fooled. Don’t be mislead into believing things that are not true. Our only hope now is if we stick together. Our only hope now is if we support each other. Above all, don’t let propaganda and politicians and radicals and racists fool you and put a blindfold over your eyes. Do not insult the memory of those that have been killed by doing this. Know that we are under threat. Know that our time is now. Know that we have to do the best we can for ourselves. For our schools. For Karachi. For Pakistan.

Don’t fight with violence or vengeance. The moment you fight, that moment you give others a chance to fight back. At that moment they have won. They have made you lose control of yourself. Let us passively resist anything anyone throws at us. Fight with your MINDS. They don’t want us to study? We WILL study. They don’t want us to pray? We WILL pray. They don’t want all the Pakistani's to be united? WE WILL BE UNITED.!

What we are trying to make you understand is that we don't care who has done this. It could be terrorists or anyone else. The thing is: It doesn’t matter. This was the first step in many to come. We have to stop this before it has a chance to begin. Don’t let them brainwash you. Don’t let them break you. Stand your ground and be cut to pieces, just don’t ever give up your beliefs. Don’t let them make you illiterate. Do not become one of the sheep that follow the lies.

They could attack anywhere that is true. So what do you plan on doing? Will you just stop living? Will you let these heartless murderers break you down? Will you just hide behind the curtain of deceit and hope for the day someone lifts it? Will you let them indoctrinate your children into fear, a fear that drives them away from their realities, their beliefs and their lives. No is the answer to these questions. Cowards are not dealt with actions based on cowardice. Rather, they are dealt with emotion, courage and faith.

Let us take an oath today. Let us Promise that we will have the courage to study, to practice freedom of thought and expression, and that we will defy all that say that we are not allowed to believe what we would like to believe, so that years on, when the children of this country live in an air of freedom and glory, men will say, “This was their finest hour”.

The enemy we face today is not known. The enemy that is brewing constantly a plan of destruction and death for us is merciless. The enemy we face is deadly in its own right. The enemy we face today has its own evil geniuses. But don’t we have the guidance of the greatest Genius of them all? We indeed do. In the heavens, He is watching. A step forward is all the moment needs. He is watching ladies and gentlemen.

Do you realise? He is not God for nothing. He is waiting for men like us to take action. He is waiting for people like us to show that we are worthy of being called Muslims. A step forward, a step to show everyone that we will not be bullied into give up our freedom, that we will retain the right to stand-by our beliefs, is all I ask of you. That’s all you need to do. Help will then descend. Ranks upon ranks, deadlier than our enemy. Sometimes it is not enough to do your best.. Sometimes we have to do what is required. Do not give into their demands of following generic thinking.

And people, we would consider it humiliating to have failed without trying. Such is the magnitude of the war above us, the war between our minds and our consciousness. If we win, we shall never have such great a victory. If we lose, we shall never have such great a defeat...

Let us now have one minute of silence for the students that died. And this silence is not for the sake of silence. During this minute just think about what has happened. A bomb - an actual BOMB was dropped on students who wished no more than to be something in their lives. A package of pure, concentrated death was unleashed upon them. So let us, just for a minute, think about what has happened.

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How Education can bring revolution in Pakistan ?

Whenever educational system in Pakistan is discussed, an alarming situation is presented as if in the last 63 years nothing has been done in this sector. Generally speaking, many studies highlighted Pakistan’s educational system as deteriorating which fail to equip students with skills necessary for modern economy. I have not yet come across any western study which has appreciated Pakistan’s public and government run schools and institutions. Specifically focusing on the studies carried out after the year 2000, reforms and increase in resources in private schools and Madrassas have been suggested but in case of public and government run schools, devolution of powers from government to the community has been suggested. Interestingly, much work has already been done and today we would find participation of parents, politicians, community members and others in the affairs of public and government educational institutions. It seems that the western nations and International Organizations are bent upon taking over all the public and government run schools and pass over to the community. It is a bitter truth that the public and government run schools have lost their charm and private schools are gradually replacing them. Alone, in the month of June 2010, the Punjab government permanently closed down at least ten of its schools in highly populated areas of Rawalpindi district. Ironically, these schools were closed due to low attendance of the students but in the same areas, where these schools were located, the private schools are jam-packed and flourishing.

If we peep into the history, during the British rule in India (now India, Pakistan and Bangladesh), the British officially tried to spread modern education and Christianity in South Asia as well as other parts of the world. For the purpose, it was laid down in the Charter Act of 1813 of British Parliament that “It was the duty of this country to promote the introduction of useful knowledge and religion and moral improvements in India and that facilities be offered by law to persons desirous of going to and remaining in India to accomplish this benevolent design” In other words, to change the minds of South Asian people was the first and foremost need of the British to continue their rule. Due to the fact that the missionaries were settled under the protection of British Army, almost all the schools, convents, churches, chapels and cathedrals were located in the cantonment areas. Missionaries established institutions such as seminaries, educational institutions, hospitals and industrial homes etc and through these institutions society was greatly influenced in terms of socio-cultural, educational and economic activities. Due to the same reasons, in less than one and a half century the minds of almost all the top men and women were changed with modern approach. It is a matter of great concern that today, the people from same countries and other like minded people are not allowing the Pakistani government to control the schools and allow educational institutions to teach Islamic culture, traditions and the religion.

After the creation of Pakistan as first Islamic ideological state in the world, efforts were made on war footings to cement the Islamic colours in every walk of life. Education was given the prime importance and efforts were made to Islamize all educational institutions with provision for the protection of religion, culture and traditions of minorities. The architect and founder of Pakistan, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah even prior to the creation of Pakistan funded Muslim intuitions especially the chain of Islamia Schools located in various cities of India including Rawalpindi, Gujaranwala, Amratsar, Jullander etc. Keeping in view the importance of education, first educational conference was held from 28 November to 2 December 1947 at Karachi. On the occasion, Quaid-e-Azam said, “Under foreign rule for over a century, in the very nature of things, I regret, sufficient attention has not been paid to the education of our people, and if we are to make any real, speedy and substantial progress, we must earnestly tackle this question and bring our educational policy and program on the lines suited to the genius of our people, consonant with our history and culture, and having regard to the modern conditions and vast developments that have taken place all over the world. There is no doubt that the future of our State will and must greatly depend upon the type of education and the way in which we bring up our children as the future servants of Pakistan. Education does not merely mean academic education, and even that appears to be of a very poor type. What we have to do is to mobilize our people and build up the character of our future generations.”

Today Pakistani nation is at the cross roads; whether to follow the Islamic ideological education on the basis of which Pakistan was created or western education which stresses on western value. Ideological education is a gateway for upholding our religion, culture, traditions and achieving eternal life while the western education is a passport to worldly success in seeking employment in western and European world. In fact, the western nations are bent upon destroying the Islamic ideological educational system in Pakistan. One cannot doubt the intensions of all the donors as many among them seriously consider that Pakistani educational institutions require reforms and paradigm change at the grass root level. However, the donors need to realize that Pakistan came into being so that Muslims of North Western and Eastern zones of India can lead their lives both individually and collectively according to the tenants of Islam. If the donors really want to help Pakistan, they have to restore and renovate schools, colleges and other institutions with which our culture and heritage is associated. Ironically, throughout Pakistan there are chain of Islamia schools, Muslim schools and colleges, which were established in the late 19th century and early 20th century. In Rawalpindi city alone there are four Islamia schools and even greater numbers of Muslim schools but their conditions are pathetic. Such schools are intentionally being ignored by the authorities and their historic and magnificent buildings are turning into ruins due to disorderly wild growth of trees, illegal shops/hotels and occupation of schools’ land by corrupt elements.

We have mile stones in our new educational policy which include provision of free primary education by 2015, provision of free education up to Matric by 2025 and overall increase in literacy rate to 86 percent by 2015. These over ambitious milestones in National Educational Policy are not a new approach. In reality, if we look back to the policies framed in the past we would conclude that our policy makers had been making mere improvements in milestones without suggesting how to do it. Interestingly, the policy makers who are deputed the task of framing it are themselves not very sure how to reach the set targets. The plight of our educational system would remain unaddressed till the time the government honestly makes an effort to inject the spirit of ideology of Pakistan in our public and government run schools. To achieve this objective, government must take over the direct control of all educational institution and introduce standard quality education without any discrimination in syllabus and induction of teachers. One wonders, what could be the reason that our education department and the government have closed their eyes and are allowing public and government run schools as well as historic educational institutions to loose their identity.

Movie Review: Cast Away

Cast Away is wonderful is inspiring movie for those who are frustrated from their lives, beautifully written, acted and directed. The movie begins with the FED-Ex employee, the leading character,who believes in doing everything on time, He loved his job and life. He was married man, and his wife was professor at school and he has busy life, they had to celebrate the Christmas in a car  because the hero, Tom Hanks has to move to another city for meeting.

He was in plane, with four others employees. The plane crashed in an ocean because the pilots lost the track, and they couldn't stay in touch with the instructor on the phone. He survived in the tragic and fortunately, He got life saving boat, which took him to an Island.

The concept of movie was more motivating, the person struggling to keep himself alive. He had the gift of her wife, which was her pic in the locket, which was source of motivation for him. His struggle in an Island, remind of me of early human struggle in Old Stone Age. He lived for four years in that Island and he kept himself alive, there was a volleyball and he made him his friend, as if he is alive and talking to him, the conversations will lead the minds of audience. 

Tom Hanks, best ever performance, inspiring, motivating and wonderful movie for those who frustrated with life, when he loses all his home, suddenly a ship cross his way, and he was saved. On his return to home, he come to know that his wife has married with someone else, and he realized that she is guilty, it was just the matter of time, everyone thought he died in the plane, his friends and family buried him along with his pics and other stuff. 

Acting as outstanding, I fell in love with Tom. The best scene of Movie was when he was telling his experiences to his friend about how he felt there in Island and the only option he had was to breathe so that he can come back to see his wife

The music was very heart-touching, the back-ground music, Over all the movie is fantastic.

The Problems of Democracy

In the 21st century, After fighting two brutal world wars, All the peace scholars have realized that the only way of avoiding war is to bring the countries to real democracies, the more democracies we have, the lesser conflict we have in the world, It seems that this is been accepted as the global governance system.

The problem with democracy is we don't live in the flat sort of world, there exists real differences in terms of culture, religion and way of living, The global version of democracy preached by the USA is in direct conflict with our religion and culture, that is Islamic state of Pakistan.

In democracy, the sovereignty belongs to the people of the state but in Islamic state, the sovereignty belongs to the Creator, Almighty Allah, Who is the supreme authority, Many people disagree to this, I believe there isn't democracy in Islam, We are bound to do we are asked for, there isn't any sort of Public opinion or freedom of expression against the commands of the God.

Shari-ah  is the Divine system which will be protected by the God Himself and We cannot live the life by our own, Islam is religion with restriction which require self-control against Nafs and evil deeds.

There comes another argument, 'What is the limit of Human will power?'. Rational and scientific society might believe that its us, who change everything around us but the theologians would argue that we should not think about future, it is also something negative in terms of trusting the God.

Masses are non-religious, the expression of the masses will spoil the religion as institution and ultimately harm the society in terms of morality and ethics, the individual character will fall and the materialism will rise.

Quaid-e-Azam & Pakistan

Quaid e Azam Mohammed Ali Jinnah- the founder of Pakistan, a nation that gained independence on 14th August 1947, had big plans for this country. Had it not been for the tireless and hopeful efforts of this man, our freedom would not exist today, we would not exist today. 

Our present situation is such that in a so called democratic state today, we are scared to shout out for our rights. Let us have a look at the Quaid’s first presidential address to the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan. This was the address whereby the Father of the nation spoke of the vision he had for the country and the main issues that he wanted the assembly to care for to strengthen the foundation that was to be laid for the country’s first constitution. 

In this presidential address he firstly talks about law and order and specifies that maintaining the judiciary of the country is imperative. 

The first observation that I would like to make is this: You will no doubt agree with me that the first duty of a government is to maintain law and order, so that the life, property and religious beliefs of its subjects are fully protected by the State.

Now, if we compare this statement with today’s reality, all we see is the dismemberment of the judiciary, the break down of law and order and absolutely no social security. Pakistan today, is termed as the most dangerous country to live in. 

Today no other country on earth is arguably more dangerous than Pakistan. (http://www.newsweek.com/id/57485)

The next issue that Mr. Jinnah went on to discuss was the vice of bribery and corruption and how he willed it to be flushed out of our people. He termed it as poison. The fact that every newspaper today is discussing the NRO and how conveniently it is being used by the venomous corrupt leaders of our country clearly indicates how closely we are following the vision of our founder.

Black Marketing was the next worst thing on the Quaid’s list who saw it as greater than the biggest and most grievous crimes. He wanted them to be severely punished. Now if one looks at the sugar crisis today and remembers the death of the eighteen miserable women who died in a stampede during a charity flour hand out in Karachi, one can wish for the punishment of those who have formed a food cartel in the country. The cartel controls, regulates and fluctuates the price at their convenience and at the cost of thousands of hungry stomachs. 
http://zoominlocal.com/ml-brampton-guardian/2009/09/17/#?article=542246

Nepotism and jobbery were the next on the founder’s list. He said he would never tolerate it. Today, the entire country is tolerating the legacy of feudal lords passing on their ministries to their children or relatives, husbands replacing their wives in power chambers, employees being hired via connections not eligibility. ‘Sifarish” and “parchi” are the norm now and the vision of those who sit in the Constituent Assembly today-or at least most of them, let’s not generalize. 

The Quaid then went on to talk about eliminating discrimination and promoting equality among the people, for this was the only way to create a happy and prosperous nation. He appealed to the people to bury the hatchets of the past, to abandon their differences and give everyone an equal status and opportunity. 

If you change your past and work together in a spirit that everyone of you, no matter to what community he belongs, no matter what relations he had with you in the past, no matter what is his colour, caste or creed, is first, second and last a citizen of this State with equal rights, privileges, and obligations, there will be on end to the progress you will make.

Let us bring ourselves to the now. We are a country which is breeding to three types of educational systems: the private schools for the rich and elite, the public schools for the poor and irrelevant and the madrassas for those would want their children to be the next Taliban generation. So we are looking at a country with three sections of the educated population. Then there are the lions of Punjab, the ignored Balochis, the rich Sindhis and the ‘terrorist’ Pathans. Not to forget the Sunnis, Shias, Boris, Ismailis, Hari Pagris, black Pagris and I’m pretty sure there will be more colorful Pagris in the future. 

The speech ended with his take on religion:

Now I think we should keep that in front of us as our ideal and you will find that in course of time Hindus would cease to be Hindus and Muslims would cease to be Muslims, not in the religious sense, because that is the personal faith of each individual, but in the political sense as citizens of the State.

Now Mr. Jinnah was clearly in favor of a secular state. Many agree with this. More do not. In fact I don’t either. But nevertheless the Quaid wanted religious tolerance in this country and with the horric Talibanization in this country, the suicide bombings, the killing of female students-tolerance lives in the land of far far away. 

The Quaid also shared the message that he had previously received from the Secretary of State of the United States. 

On the occasion of the first meeting of the Constituent Assembly for Pakistan, I extend to you and to the members of the Assembly, the best wishes of the Government and the people of the United States for the successful conclusion of the great work you are about to undertake.


Now this symbolizes the worth of America’s acceptance of Pakistan as a free and independent state. It extended a hand of friendship and the Quaid endorsed it. But never did he envision the Pakistani president to be endorsing as heinous an American deal as the Kerry Lugar Bill at the risk of handing over what ever was left of our sovereignty and national integrity. 

I once saw an image of the founder on a local magazine called Akhbar e Jahan. He was crying tears of blood. As I read his speech once again talking about his vision for the country, all I can think of are hundreds who die in suicide blasts each day and how he would have cried over their blood.