Poverty in Pakistan

SameerAbdal Malik

Section H

Poverty is the lack of basic human needs, such as clean water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter, because of the incapability to afford them. This is also referred to as absolute poverty or destitution. Relative poverty is the condition of having fewer resources or less income than others within a society or country, or compared to worldwide averages. Poverty in Pakistan is a growing concern, as it is a developing country.

Poverty is widespread in Pakistan and is particularly predominant in rural areas as compared to the Urban districts. Nearly 80 per cent of the country’s poor people, subsist in rural parts of the country.

The causes of poverty incorporate lack of education, poor access to health services, large family size, gender discrimination and vulnerability to environmental degradation and deterioration of the natural resource base.

The recent increase in the international prices of food commodities has had a considerable impact on Pakistan’s poor people. It is estimated that about 17 million people have coupled the ranks of the 60 million people who are food insecure and many more are at risk. About half of the country’s population lives in a condition of food insecurity.

The prevalence of poverty varies between pastoral and metropolitan areas, and from one province to the next. Poverty is widely and evenly distributed in the many mountainous parts of the country where communities are small, scattered and isolated, and where there are few major urban centers.

There may be differences on the precise measurement of poverty but it is widely believed that the incidence of poverty in Pakistan has increased during the decade of 1990s.

Poverty will never end unless there are real solutions to end it; solutions based on economic justice and political changes.

According to my perceptions and illustrations by journalists; ‘Poverty can only be catered via the full equality between men and women in public as well as private areas of life, a worldwide minimum wage of $20 per day and the end of child labor under the age of 16 with the creation of a subsidy for scholarship. Secondly by the guarantee of shelter, healthcare, education, food and drinking water as basic human rights that must be provided free to all. Thirdly a total redistribution of idle lands to landless farmers and the imposition of a 50% cap on arable land devoted to products for export per country, with the creation of a worldwide subsidy for organic agriculture.’ 

What happened to Pakistan’s Cricket “Junoon”

The two months February and March were deeply anticipated by every cricket fan as the cricket world cup was to be played between these two months. For Pakistan this world cup held immense importance as our team was under many conspiracies, our team members like M. Asif, M. Amir and the captain of our team Salman Butt were accused of spot fixing in a test match against England. Later in the trial they were found guilty and then they were banned from cricket. This conspiracy was a great astonishment to every Pakistani and everybody felt humiliated of their act. Before the world cup huge campaigns were started by the media of almost every country to support their team and that created a huge hype in the cricket world and the fans.

When this world cup commenced not many Pakistanis were expecting a good presentation from our team and were of the opinion that our team will even not make into the quarterfinals but in spite of this everyone started supporting the team and hoped for the best. Even the cricket experts were saying that Pakistan will not be able to make into the quarterfinals and their performance will be dismal because the team lost its three key players and their abrupt suitable replacement will be very tricky for Pakistan. As the world cup commenced arrangements were made to show the world cup on big screens and huge events were planned to screen the match live.

In the start of the world cup I wasn’t even expecting our team to perform well but I was proved wrong by our team’s dazzling performance against Sirilanka in their second game of the world cup when our line-up managed to beat the host of the world cup on their own soil. It was a great accomplishment by the team and this triggered the fury of world cup craze in which everyone got mad. Later Pakistan beat Canada and then came then Pakistan’s fate had demise and Pakistan lost a match against New Zealand but our team played well. The last group match was between Pakistan and Australia. Australia was triumphant for more than 30 consecutive games and no doubt that Pakistan was an underdog in the match but once again Pakistan shined brilliantly and won the match against Australia that was the time when every cricket expert started praising Pakistani team’s performance. There were also many good matches in the group stages which set the course up for the world cup’s later stages like when England lost a match against Ireland and which was a great jolt so the world cup initiated a cricket fever.

Then started the later stage of the world cup and the most anticipated of the all, the quarter finals, so the cricket fever was at its peak. The top 8 teams were capable of making into the quarters. Pakistan toped the group and was to play with West Indies which was 4^th in the second group and the last one to qualify for the quarter finals. Evidently our team was the favourite for this match. The match was played on 23^rd march and as it was a national holiday because Pakistan’s resolution was passed on 23^rd march 1940. On this day I thought of watching the match with my cousins but was a bit late to reach their home but the roads were free from cars and there wasn’t much traffic on the road, people were indoors watching the match. The match was easily won by Pakistan by 10 wickets.

Then came the most thrilling match of the world cup the second semi-final between archrivals India and Pakistan. There was about a week’s time between the match and media of both the countries started declaring it as a war Indian media declared “Maha Yudh” greater war. In this week before the match every Pakistani channel, every person was talking about the match even the political shows were having a discussion on the match. The match became the most anticipated match of the world cup and some people regarded it even bigger than the final. So huge arrangements were made by people to watch the match in groups. The match started and Pakistani bowlers did very well to restrain India’s huge batting line up at only 265 runs. At that moment everyone thought that Pakistan will improvise the pure batting conditions and win the match even I thought that Pakistan had the match in the bag but it was a shock to me when I saw that Pakistan lost the match by 29 runs but still I praised my team because it performed very well under the conditions and also that Pakistan was an underdog in the tournament but still we managed sneak into the semis and were able to challenge a team like India which were hot favourites for the world cup and eventually they managed to win the world cup. So in this manner the cricketing junoon in Pakistan ended and I don’t think that many Pakistanis saw the final match which India won easily.  

M.Adeel Tariq

09U0769

Pakistan my Lalaland- reels for acute oil and gas shortage

Article: Sidra Shahid

It’s eight in the morning you are getting late for the class, you have to pick up a friend, and guess what?? You car is running out of oil and gas. The first thing you wanted to do in this situation is to bang your head and the second would be probably to let it be, get gas for your car, pick your friend, hit to the university and go into the class where the teacher is ready to hit you and when you are ready to utter something, she pounces upon you n say, “don’t expect that I would allow you to get in the class, take your excuse with you and get out of the class”. And you are left with the emotion of hopelessness on your face. You feel like the most unlucky person in the world and you wanted to shout loud that, “God why me?” and the devil in you pricked you and say, “Hey! Chill out dude! Get a life… roam around and get a puff with your friends… what are you sighing for??? You are out of the class man! You are surely better than other guys. Stand out and fly... You are a free bird.” And you as usual say thanks to respectful Mr. Devil stand up, tug your shirt out, Make your hairs spikier, and call your close chum and say, “Hey dude! What’s up? I am waiting for you at the sheesha lounge, be there in five minutes.”

Most of the people among us would face the second situation, well! Perhaps every one, obviously who would actually hurt himself??? “The precious us”. But in the current situation in our country when getting oil and gas for your car is as difficult as getting food for a deprived, you have to wait for the hours in the long queues at the stations to get the gas or oil for your car, and you don’t get late for the class as you don’t even get the chance to hit at your universities or schools, and both the situations go in vain. Since few months Pakistan is going through the shortage of natural gas and petrol. And recently the government cut short the supply of oil and gas and it was recently posted on the Pakistani blog (the Pakistani spectator) that 380 CNG stations have been closed down by the authorities in NWFP and Punjab. People are so upset and they are simply dumbfounded at this and wondering what they would do?? They can’t go to schools, offices, businesses, and universities. Patients are dying due to the absence and dearth of ambulances, which has been a victim of gas shortage. And not only has this, with this news the Pakistan got the free gift of “high petrol prices”. According to the local channel news reporter, the prices of the petrol are doubled, and profiteers are cashing it on this situation.

Sui northern gas is saying that they have cut the supply short to the stations because they want to facilitate the domestic users. But according to the TV and newspaper reports this is all very false, because the domestic users are also getting very little supply of gas. In one of the show of the local radio station, “FM 95 Punjab rung”, the radio jockey reported that; in the rural areas of Punjab the Sui gas is only available for specific time every day. Thus, the life of a lay man is totally on stake. From the business man to a rickshaw driver, everyone is facing the crisis through the scarcity of gas. A Lahori rickshaw driver, who started driving rickshaw after the prime minister’s rozgar scheme, said about the present situation that, “it’s very difficult for a poor person to endure in this condition. I couldn’t pay my bills, school fees for my children, house rent, and I don’t even have money to bring something for my family to eat because I am not able to drive rickshaw due to the gas shortage. In this situation what else could we do rather than attempting suicide??? What else could we do rather than blaming the government??? The slogan “roti, kapra, makaan” is really taking our lives away.”

The actual reason behind the oil shortage was that the PSO, with the permission of government stopped the supply of oil to Total, Shell and Caltex. The other reason was the flood situation in Pakistan due to which the oil refineries in the premises of Punjab were not in the working process and that results into the shortage of supply of oil.

But there is another end towards the story, the Pakistan defense revealed that the real issue is not the gas shortage; in fact these rulers are diverting people’s attention from the American war. America is conducting drone attacks in North Waziristan on every day basis due to which thousands of people are killed and thousands of people are forced to lick the dust of misery and hopelessness. People there are forced to live in the open, in the extremely cold weather. Government is actually creating one crisis after another just to drive the attention of Pakistanis from the American interference in Pakistan. Hence its “danger to democracy”, rhetorical drama that our government trumps up at times while sometimes it plays havoc with people’s lives through different situations like load shedding of gas and electricity just to make people busy with their own problems.

Watching the two ends of the situation the only thing that would come in everyone’s minds is that, what our government actually wants from us??? They want us to pay taxes for their international holidays and then in result are severely beaten by the intense crisis situation??? The present situation shows that the Pakistan due to the crises and negligence of government is on the verge to be shut down, and then there is no need for anyone to attack us as we ourselves with the help of our beloved rulers are leaping back towards the Stone Age, living with the candles, and we will die our own without any kind of military attacks.

But this is not the time to back down, at least not right now; there is too much at stake… our country need us all. Its sounds of help are echoing everywhere that we always ignore. But this is the time to wake up, to listen to the call of our own country and to realize every Pakistani the wretched reality. It is fine to go late in the class, having no electricity and wait hours for your turn to get petrol and CNG. But it is not right to be dispersed this is the time to get united because being a nation together we can fight through the crises and can conquer.

Sidra Shahid
BBA II
Sec: H
o9u0309

when she turns twenty!

By Yumna Azhar

....After spotting the prey, the predator stalks using available cover. It now tracks the prey calmly… the prey, unaware of the situation is busy with its own stuff. The ruthless animal attacks with a rush, often from behind without giving the poor soul anytime to think and react…

A mature woman in her late 40’s spots a pretty girl at a wedding. She follows her for some time to observe the nature of the girl as if she has some high tech James bond gadget to detect the nature of the person by the way they walk and talk. The lady approaches the girl pretending to see her coincidently…thinking of herself as an undercover agent who is on “mission impossible”. Agent X whispers to agent Y, “phssss Fehmidah, look at that girl in yellow, such a doll she is…what a pair she would make with my papooo na...”. “Sure sure, hey Rihana, look at the one in pink, the tall one, she would look so good with my guddu, he wants a tall bride for him… Just pray that they aren’t already engaged, we will go for the shadi shopping together, I’ll wear a red saari by karma”. “Oh my God I have already thought of the names of my grandchildren….”

The usual scenario you have to face at any wedding you attend after turning 20 and in some extreme cases even before that, if…. (I may mention) You are a girl. The aunties literally “hunt” girls for there “laals”. On every other wedding or gathering you start feeling a pair (or two) of eyes following you and after sometime rather too obviously coming and meeting you, inquiring you about your family and trying to suck all sort of personal information possible from your head. ....

Ever noticed a sudden change in your mother? All of a sudden she becomes  so hyper excited about your best friend’s sister’s wedding  that she buys you new clothes all (branded ones you had ever dreamt of), makes you go to the parlor to get your hair done and makes sure that you look your best at the wedding oh, and that too of someone else. “Mom wasn’t like this two years back at my cousin’s wedding and I had to beg her to get me a new clutch (not to mention all the household chores she made me do in return and yes, all the list of promises of do’s and don’ts…) then what is different this year?....” I’m turning 20 this year. The year a girl turns 20, her parents’ starts worrying about her marriage and start treating her like what the daily soap folks call “paraya dhan”.

A real pain in the tooth for every girl falling within the bracket of 20 to 30 years of age. Worth mentioning here are the expressions of my teacher and TA while I was discussing the idea of the article with them. “I mean you should ask me….I’ll be turning 28 and this is what I have to go through each day” states Miss Sonia who is an instructor at the Lahore School of Economics, while the TA nodes in agreement helplessly making you feel sorry for the poor girl. We all ride in the same (BIG) boat girls…....

Sixty three years post partition and we are still living in the rip offs of the sub continental culture. The mentality of the people has not quite nurtured since then. I can link every other current incident to the “question of identity” from the Sialkot incident to the westernization, from democracy to law, from the education standards to the societal pressure on a girl to get married early. 

Who said women are equal and should be given equal rights? Who said they deserve to be given equal opportunities as men? Is this equality? If it is, why isn’t there any pressure on a man to get married? Why do girls get to hear every single day that you won’t get a decent “rishta” after 26? What is 26 by the way…? A scale of measure or something? And if it is, then who set it in the first place? The society..? Ok, what society; the Muslim society or the Hindu society? Or maybe the leftovers of both that we are living in.....

We have some best institutions in Pakistan for everything ranging from fashion to medical which give equal opportunities to both, men and women. If there is no disparity there, then why is it afterwards? A man will marry after 30 after he is well settled and all but a woman has to get “hold” of a good proposal till 26, because after that the so called downfall of a girl’s beauty starts. I’m sorry what century are we living in?....

Since my early years in life I had high plans for life, and being the eldest child my parents treated me like a son or for that matter, there was no difference between a son and a daughter. As I grew up I learnt that you get to live only once so I wanted to achieve all of it. I joined the Lahore school of economics to acquire bachelors in business administration and planned to get a diploma in fashion designing later from NCA. It was my dream to launch my own label and work as a reporter at a news channel. I wanted to learn guitar and meet Brad pit (some dreams).  Also I thought of becoming an RJ and write for a magazine. I wanted to do it all and all of it for myself… but to my bad luck, I’m born as a female in a society that as the power to impose injustice on people and call it traditions.

The problem with our culture is that nothing we have or want to have belongs to us. We follow a culture which is a fusion of the Hindu and the Muslim norms with a twist of westernization in it. We don’t have an identity of our own. For centuries the weak is suffering on the name of religion, honor, power, wealth, status and what not. Why do we call ourselves a great nation? Until or unless we define greatness by breaking the chains of the society we won’t achieve it.

It is the people who make the society and not the other way around!  Think about it.

Karachi, Pakistan

By 

Muhammad Maqbool

So here I was, Karachi, the business capital of Pakistan. Home to over 20 million people from all over Pakistan covering almost all casts and creeds there are. But something was wrong; the once glittery words that were used to be associated with the city’s mention had faded in some unknown whirlwind of confusion and terrorism. So what has happened is it Fear? Or is it just a lot of “Hype” that has been promoted by the media? To answer these questions let me take you a little down my memory lane.

Being brought up in Lahore, the only image I ever got whenever I tuned into any news channel was, that the minute I would land in Karachi, either I would be robbed on gunpoint or would be shot, becoming a victim of racism. But No! This was definitely not the case. On this point I would like to thank our wonderful newly free media who instead of promoting the positive side of the story, have always tended to promote the dark side. I was not robbed on landing in Karachi and I was definitely not shot, thank God. So back to my story, my family had moved to this new city and I was here to stay. My family has had a Carpet business established in Karachi long before partition, but for me this was the first time in Karachi at the age of 19, because for starters, I never cared for this part of the heirloom. So now that I was here, I decided on my daredevil instinct to explore the city.

My first few explorations led me to the general conclusion that in this big city “Nobody Interferes”, everybody is so much engulfed in their own business’s and life to the point that nobody has even a split second to think over what is happening in and around them, this is actually something positive because nobody is actually medalling in your life. At the same time the other conclusion was that the “City Never Slept”, whether it be 3am in the morning or 3pm in the afternoon you would find families, couples and loners in public places, coffee shops, food courts and Malls. This is something I didn’t see either in Lahore where after midnight the traffic on road starts to thin off and Islamabad, where, well there is nothing after 8 in the evening. Now coming back to Karachi, the city has more places to offer than any other city of Pakistan, the biggest attraction being the warm water Beach of course. Food, well to be honest, the food is that really baffled me. Being a born Lahori, I belong to the class that never compromises on food and taste and these are the two things we believe can be found only in Lahore, but my explorations led me to a strange conclusion, I know this is a suicidal thing to say, but Karachi has more Taste to offer than Lahore itself.

A living city, then where the HELL was the problem, I mean everyday even in Karachi when I used to flicker through news channels the same news prevailed on every news channel, “Target Killing”, “Political Demonstrations”, “Boycotts and Strikes”…. But why was all this happening and if it was happening why? The people of the city have almost everything; the business capital that controls 38% of the country’s wealth, but still no Peace. Curiosity plagued me to look deep for at least a simple answer to a simple question, why? And to what extent?

It so happened that a senior member of the Jang News Group was a close family friend, on asking him the same question, I was given a simple answer, the city had grown more than its limits, what was happening even in the outskirts of the city was considered to be happening inside the city, even when nothing was happening at all. Well this could be considered a diplomatic statement, but honestly, this is idiotic, to believe that something is not wrong in this city when something has definitely gone badly wrong.

Well to me the Answer is simple, Karachi holds a population consisting of people coming from all creeds of Pakistan and like the difference’s that have caused division in the rest of the country this beautiful city too has fallen victim to the same problem but just on a lower scale. The city has been divided into power centers by Political Parties, who fight at the price of killing innocent civilians. The Pashtun led by ANP, the Urdu-Speaking led by MQM, the Punjabi and Sindhi speaking by branches of PPP and PML. There is nothing to hide here; you can see the colors of these parties spread across the city, marking starting and ending points of their respective regions. But the only problem is why the people of Karachi have to suffer the indecencies of these lunatics who just want to retain power not even thinking a bit what disastrous harm they have already bought to the image of the once capital city of Pakistan. It’s sad but this is the reality. The city might not be centuries old, but it still holds a key position in the minds of all Pakistanis. But alas, the city’s glamour has almost faded and is on the brink of extinction, if not saved now by the people living in and outside this city which is considered to be the “Heart of Pakistan”, it will soon stop beating, and you know what happens to the body when the heart stops working. 

Muhammad Maqbool

BBA II Sec H

09U0617

Underground Music Industry of Pakistan

The term music industry is used to describe a range of music related businesses and music organizations. Now talking about the underground music industry, the word underground refers to something that is hidden or concealed and underground music industry refers to a variety of music subgenres, bands that usually develop a subculture cult following their lack of mainstream trend or commercial promotion.

When talking about arts, music is also a part of it and that particularly in the Pakistan. In the last ten years many movements in the local scene have come and gone. Some of the musicians have left a sharp mark in the field of enduring pop and rock anthems while others have just faded into history as they never existed. They just came and vanished. Some of the underground music singers or bands in Pakistan are doing a great job. Their appeal to the local market as compared to the other music industry is exactly the same as the engines of the global record industry. Worldwide trends in music had been changing with the passage of time and with the change in the taste of music buyers. Now having a look at the last ten years of underground music industry in Pakistan, focusing on the main players of the music game of popular music in Pakistan was a period that has seen alot of ups and downs in the local music market.

In the year 1994 .The Pakistani scene was afire with the creative currents of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, the Vital Signs and others. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan had the distinction of bringing laurels to Pakistan internationally as goras went mad, spinning and whirling to his intoxicating blend of qawwali and western pop. At that particular time TV pop chart music shows as Rhythm Whythm, music channel charts helped and encouraged the local pop industry to evolve in a big way in that period. They gave a chance to the upcoming bands as the underground singers to make pop stars out of themselves. Some of the underground music bands or singers emerged with great success and victoriously while others failing into the mainstream due to the lack of musical depth and talent in them.

 As things went better and better, the Vital Signs though an underground band had begun their final descent towards the pop history books. In the beginning as the band was formed by two teenagers in early 1986 in Rawalpindi who were later accompanied by lead guitarist and Surprisingly, at that time the band had no name and not even when the band recruited lead vocalist Junaid Jamshed who was doing engineering from Lahore at that time. During that time General Zia ul Haq was the president. That was the time when the middle and lower middle classes were propelled by the economic and political tensions. In mid 1986, when Benazir Bhutto returned from her exile, she led a rally in Lahore. This led to many urban centers saw many new local pop music bands emerging. Most of the new acts played at private parties and weddings and at college functions, and by early 1987 the Vital Signs seemed firm favorites n the period's college function circuit.  The "Dil Dil Pakistan" lads were now headed in a more psychedelic pop direction. In '95 they released "Hum Tum", one of their most mature, sonically dense, musically diverse and one of the most popular albums. After that, though not revolutionary in the truest sense of the word, Junoon's 1996 album "Inqilaab" was definitely a treat for the ears. This was the band's golden age, as they were writing socially conscious tunes, as was evidenced by such pioneering tracks as Saeen. With that song, the band showcased a shade of their 'Sufi rock' side, which would later bloom fully in 1998's "Azadi", the record that helped them smash through the South Asian charts and become household names from Delhi to Dera Ghazi Khan. "Azadi", probably the greatest album of their catalogue yet, put the group into another league, and tax bracket, altogether.

Awaaz which emerged from the underground music industry into the mainstream were once the perfect poster boys for shrilling clean sound to the commercial pop music. With their catchy looks and bouncy synth leads, the band singers Haroon, Fakhir, and Asad Ahmed seemed unbeatable at what they did best: make safe, sugary corporate pop.

Now talking about another underground band which due to presence of talent and their hard work came successful in the mainstream and the name of that band is Noorie. It originated from Lahore; Punjab .The genre they belong to is pop and rock. Its members include Ali Noor and Ali Hamza. They became a rock icon for the new generation. The band released their first album; “Suno k main hun jawan” in 2003.The album was a big success in Pakistan. Then they released their second album in September 2005. Another band named  Aaroh, the group that had won the Battle of the Bands, launched their hotly anticipated debut album "Sawaal" in 2003. Mixing pop balladry with alternative rock and semi-classical vocals, the band created a deft mix that had the potential to conquer the local scene. But there was trouble in paradise, and in 2004, the band called it quits after hardly a year together.

In 2004, Mekaal Hasan launched his deliciously different "Sampooran", which has raised a strong with its mix of classical vocals and jazz-fusion guitar. Besides that EP is also a very famous band these days which was first singing as an underground singer. Another well known Underground music in Pakistan is Irtaash. They have sung English songs as well as Urdu and are doing a great job. There songs can be found on the different websites etc.

So that, briefly, was a bird's eye view of what the last ten years in music were like. Much has changed, yet much remains the same. For instance, local musicians still swipe tunes and melodies from foreign artists and pretend that the audience is too dumb or stupid to realize when they are playing a Jimi Hendrix or Jimi Page riff. On the other hand, the next generation of groups has proven that only those will survive who take chances, who try out bolder themes when it comes to subject matter and play with different song structures. The future, for a change, looks very bright for Pakistani pop and all its subdivisions.

We can find a number of underground music singers and bands on different websites. They are known as the social media band websites. Many of the particular sites offer the ability to upload the songs for free. Visitors to those pages can also listen to those songs that are being uploaded there. They can also learn about the bands and can possibly buy the particular music if it is available for sale. These websites offer great opportunities and effective ways to promote their music. This is how underground music singers and bands evolve and if interested, they can also enter the mainstream.
Saleha Butt
Section H
BBA II 
09U0440

           

A wakeup call.

By Arshia Azhar.

Revolutions have had revolutionary effects on countries, nations, groups and empires. It is evident from history that a nation cannot live under tyranny or adverse conditions for long and that the rulers who are not able to govern properly ultimately have to face the wrath of their people in the form of a revolution. In Pakistan the conditions at the moment are adverse and challenging for the people. Ever since the democratic government has taken charge the numbers of suicide incidents in the country have increased. An ordinary person who earns eight to ten thousand a month is hardly able to feed himself and his family thrice a day. To make the matters worse governments’ inability to control price hike has made the situation even worse. Such has been the performance of this government that people now want the previous government of a dictator back. The last two and a half years have been characterized by corruption, inefficiency, political war between the two major parties, foreign tours which are good for nothing, lack of development, poor getting poorer, rich getting richer and last but not the least lack of security for the people. In such a situation the people of Pakistan have to come out on the roads and fight for their rights. The lack of their participation in politics as mentioned in the previous articles has led to this situation so this the right time to correct the past mistakes and revive the glory of Pakistan and its people. No or little accountability has made the politicians to take this nation as granted and do whatever. They know that come the next elections we will be in the parliament again. This sort of thinking needs to be changed and it is obligatory for us to make them realize that whatever they are doing is wrong. I am not of the view that each and every politician is corrupt; it is our system that is corrupt. It is a shame for us to be the 32^nd most corrupt country in the world. Other countries don’t trust us anymore; the fact that the foreign countries and organization gave their donations to the non-government organizations instead of the government of Pakistan after the floods is very derogatory for us. It is a dilemma which has to be changed. People around the world consider Pakistan as a failed state because of our internal conditions and situation.

In order to change the current scenario of our homeland we need a revolution. A revolution led by a group of people who know regarding how to lead this country. The people of Pakistan have to come out of their nutshells and fight for their due rights. The political system has to be changed; corrupt politicians should be sent to jail and proper accountability has to be held. We have to set an example for everyone, an example that does not give anyone the strength and courage to do wrong to his country ever again. Pakistan has all the ingredients to be a successful prosperous country. The available resources, labor and talent is unmatched; need of the hour is to polish it and utilize it in an efficient manner. It is true that we as a nation have not played our role properly in the development of this country. This is the time to correct our mistakes and do something for this country that has given us a lot. Go ask the Kashmirs’, the Palestinians’ about independence and they will tell how badly they need it and how much they have suffered just because they don’t have freedom. It is sad that my generation and my parents’ generation forgot what our forefathers did to get this piece of land. Their sacrifices have been forgotten totally. We need to try our level best to turn this Pakistan into a Pakistan of Quaid-e-Azam and the only way to do this is revolution. The Muslims of the subcontinent brought a revolution in the region by getting independence from the British; we need another revolution to make Pakistan a strong country that can face any external threat bravely.

"I Was a Woman, Now I Am a Ghost"

Article: Sidra Shahid


The 18th and early 19th century consisted of an agricultural society wherein the family worked as a unit, each contributing to the growth and prosperity of the unit. Education and healthcare was provided within the home. Every member of the household was engaged in a skill that would enhance their economic viability. These values were an integral part of their life and their success was measured by how industrious they could be.

Along with industrialization, the 19th century brought with it a change in the family as a cohesive unit. Outside influences directed the course they would take. The home was no longer the core of economic production, but was now the catalyst whereby all labor was forced out.

Education and healthcare institutions became the guardians of the children. Classes began to form and independent families were no longer the norm but, rather, the exception. The age of the independent family has been replaced with an emergence of families in poverty, despair, loneliness, and frustration.

Groups of women have been dangerous in the past, among them Pakistan’s suffragettes of the19th and 20th centuries. Some men and women alike that opposed their right to vote abused them. Just as disturbingly today, some women are abused in more ways, starting as early as infancy when they are molested, raped, belittled, beaten, burned, neglected, starved, and thrown out. Further, because of peer pressure and spousal abandonment, many women fall victim to drug addiction, alcoholism, unwed pregnancy, cult lifestyles, homelessness, poverty, prostitution, and suicide.

Incidences of sexual assaults against children have risen when compared with previous decades, and children are increasingly kidnapped by family acquaintances and strangers instead of close relatives. Yet thousands of sex offenders are never sentenced, in part because their victims are people within their circles usually family members and these children are pressured with threat or shame not to press charges.

With compassion rather than condemnation letting women relate to each distressed, awaken from the deep truths to share that she had kept within herself for a long period of time that prepared her to be dynamited out of rut. Our God is a God of miracles, and this is a somehow a miracle happening right now in the lives of these desperate, terribly abused, totally lost women. Not only does the Lord save, He washes white as snow and sends the washed ones out to witness for Him.

 I am always struck by the strong social expectation that we all seem to hold -- when faced with a crisis, no one will step out of their comfort zone to offer help.

 Meet Shahista physically, verbally, and sexually abused in childhood, as she makes a desperate bid to rise out of the mire of drug addiction and prostitution. How did she find God? One desperate day, after hearing about the Lord, she opened the front door and asked God to come in and be her best friend and walk with her forever. And the miracles began to happen.

 Meet Hajra who went to Data Darbaar (Dargaah) yet was betrayed by the parents who took her there. The forces of darkness reached out to claim her and drive her into deathly desperation. She tried suicide, alcohol, drugs, sex, and an abortion. When nothing else helped, she called unto the Lord, and from then on, no matter how dark the way became, God continually reached out until Hajra stumbled into His arms and her miracles started.

 By observing some of the much needed facilities that should be provided to women are not being provided and they do not get a chance to express their feelings, this all opened my eyes to the injustice and hopelessness that many suffer in this society. I believe that everyone should at least be given a fighting chance to not only survive, but to thrive. 

Feudal, police officers and soldiers are found culpable of the rape of more than hundreds of women in the towns of our country. Why they are not being charged of such in hummable activity? If someone reaches the court somehow, she is not given a chance to proceed within the court and is declared as an abnormal person blaming a respectable person of the society whose face is covered with his good deeds and character. This Demonstrates that the most dangerous people "count it all joy" by looking at the bigger picture. They do this with an unshakable faith that all will be well, no matter what circumstances look like at this moment. Such people have come through the fires of hell in one piece and have survived, No, they have prospered. Now they spread the good word of hope, and this is the lesson of life that if we know it, then we can achieve it, and then we will facilitate it for others.

Center in the courts have begun serving lengthy sentences in the provincial capitals yet a good sign of hope but the speedy trial and sentencing by a mobile court is a welcome sign of a new commitment to ending impunity for sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of Pakistan.

 So many people around us are broken in one way or another. Many elements in the stories of these females will strike a familiar chord. That may be unnerving, or frightening. But woven through every story, on every page of their life, is the truth of God's grace and a steady, unmistakable sense of hope. These women progressed from broken vessels, to women dangerous to themselves and others, to heroes boldly dangerous for God and His promises for healing, deliverance, and truth through salvation.

Many of the children I met in village here in my home town had been shunned from their families, abandoned, orphaned, and left to wither away. One particularly horrifying story was of a girl from the orphanage who had been buried alive on top of her deceased mother because no one in the community could take care of her. A brave little boy heard her cries, dug her up, and carried her in his bicycle basket to the door of the Sisters. I believe that much needs to change in the world- from corrupt politics to greed to overindulgence to priorities in life. I also believe that it doesn't happen overnight and that it is almost never easy. 

Regardless, I want to try to live by the words of Mahatma Gandhi- "Be the change you wish to see in the world." 

Domestic violence against women in Pakistan has been worst and vulnerable since the origin of the country. Some of the issues which I have observed through my insight struggle are the social and cultural reasons for violence against women, the ways in which the women are victimized, the extent of this violence and its implications for the victims and society at large. It is often seen that some of the major reasons for violence against women include treatment of women as objects and property, legitimization of cruel practices through tradition and misinterpretation of religion, and patriarchal nature of society that enables men to reinforce their social power through subjugation of women. While around 80% of Pakistani women are reported to face some form of domestic violence every year, horrific crimes such as honor killings, acid burnings and marital rape are also quite common.

There are several absurd practices such as exchanging of women to settle tribal disputes and selling them to pay off debt, which depict the treatment of women as commodities. The violence against women goes unchecked because of an unjust legal system that leads to unfair settlements and custodial violence against women. The brutalization and torture of women has several negative impacts that start with the continuous fear and feelings of worthlessness among the victims. Large-scale mistreatment of women forces economic backwardness on them and creates widespread gender-disparity in the country. 

My first encounter with the real state of women was back in school times when I returned back to my hometown to meet my parents. A story from some of the relatives and of an aunt of mine in Arifwala came to our house once, sobbing and weeping. I was playing football with my brother in the backyard as she sat there and explained to my parents how her husband had beaten her and kicked her out of his home. She seemed to be in serious pain, yet she was not bleeding or anything. What she said was or what she wanted to say that I could read her eyes was that, “I remember so many things I want to forget. I remember once upon a time I was a real person, and then I was a woman. Now I am a ghost."

The source of her pain was heartache. She was sobbing, and I could not help but stop playing to watch her. She said the word talaaq (divorce) time and again. Every time she said it, she cried louder. This idea of divorce must have been her tormentor. It appeared that she did not want to be divorced; whatever that meant was unclear to me at the time. Later on in the day, I asked my Mama what was wrong with auntie. Mama said I would not understand it. Eventually, my aunt went back to her husband’s home to live there for good. 

More than a decade down the line, I now understand things a little better. My aunt’s husband had no excuse to treat her so badly. After all, he could just have ended the marriage if he did not want to be with my aunt anymore. But why did he kill her each passing moment, every day, with the same threat of divorce and physical torture?

Because he knew that she would have no place in the society as a divorced woman that she would have no means of financial sustenance. My aunts own family would despise her. Today, her husband has a second wife, a “sokan” for my aunt as it is called in Urdu. Her husband divides his time between the two wives. He treats the sokan better because she is younger and more beautiful. His actions have no legal implications, only moral and ethical ones that do not bother him. My aunt has four children, and lives with her husband pretending that the other woman does not exist. This is an unfair compromise, but my aunt has no other choice if she wants to survive in the patriarchal society. 

But what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Living with someone who suffers from such a pathetic behavior would have definitely made her a stronger person and it has made their relationship stronger. It has also taught her that she can’t base her self confidence on how he treats her or how much he compliments her. She is a strong woman with lots to offer and now, she embraces that!

Any of such stories, recorded as chapters of women’s life, could stand alone as an important film and represents the sense of courage, velour and hope as well as a sense of redemption that prevails within the minds of such women. I would be deeply honored to say that “He who conquers himself is the mightiest warrior”. 

Though the overall picture is quite bleak for women in Pakistan, there are some rays of hope through isolated cases in which society has supported victimized women and the legal system has dispensed justice. Overall, this is a manifesto for improving the plight of millions of battered women in Pakistan who deserve social justice.

Sidra Shahid
BBAII
Sec: H
09u0309

Wake up Nation,its time to act!

Mariya Sharif Khan

Section H

09u0615

Is this the same Pakistan that Allama Iqbal dreamt of??Is this the same country for which millions of people sacrificed there lives? Is this the same place for which people got united with Quaid e Azam and hence succeeded in getting independence??

It’s the same country perhaps the feelings of people are changed... Since I have got mature I have been noticing that every other day something terrible happens in this country like Bomb blasts, floods, earthquakes, terrorist attacks etc .Even the children are now used to seeing the bloodshed on TV. They have accepted this country like this. I m not saying that nothing good happen here but there is a constant feeling of sympathy for the citizens of this country in my heart, myself being one. Whenever I switch on the TV, something heart breaking is being shown. Same happened few days back, as the TV turned on there was a huge crowd surrounding someone. What were they looking at? Was an immediate question that came to my mind following some more. Was it some juggling show or did they discover something new or was someone showing different tricks? No it wasn’t that. Then what was it? I kept guessing until I actually discovered that they were human beings who were brutally bashed by human beings…they were two young teenage boys, one 15 year old Muneeb Sajjad and other 17 year old Hafiz Mughees Sajjad. This gruesome act was taking place in front of many people and they were ruthlessly bombarded with stones and knocked with hockey sticks. Many mobile cameras were recording the heinous act.

I am still unable to figure out the purpose of capturing it with smiles on their faces??It wasn’t some kind of achievement or some kind of entertainment show which they had to show later to their friends, it wasn’t a joke they didn’t win any medal by killing them that they were feeling proud ,they took it a lesson well taught. The viciousness extended to the level that after their demise, their dead bodies were tied with ropes, dragged on roads and hung on the pillars of an overhead water tank situated next to the office of Rescue 1122.It was a moment of utter shame for we Pakistanis. We showed our true selves that how inhumane and callous we are.   

The younger one died soon, but the elder one was still breathing when he was hung after immense torture for 2 hours. He was pleading…not for his life but for his death. He was begging to be shot dead instead of such a barbaric agony. Furthermore, they were then laid in a truck for a display and were moved in streets through the city.

As it was time to act, so the efficient Pakistani public woke up suddenly and acted immediately. Their prompt action was to join the killers without knowing the actual story; they further hurled stones and kicked their bleeding heads. It’s truly a disgrace as a nation.

The slayers were enraging the mob by calling the two ‘thieves’. Were they actually thieves? No, they were ordinary college going boys who were obsessed with cricket and after offering their  Fajr  prayers they went to the same place nearby  where they used to play cricket and had an  argument  last time wd the  other boys. This time they were called there to resolve the issue...Nobody knew the issue will be resolved in this way that they will be killed to death. What was unfortunate was that few minutes ago there was a robbery in the same village and the boy with whom the brothers had an argument last time was killed by the robbers’. In rage, the family members after seeing Muneeb and Mughees shouted that they were also involved in this, to this mob reacted and rescue 1122 arrived at the spot. They further called the police who according to expectations arrived 45 minutes late. Till that time the two were badly injured. The so called ‘trustworthy ‘police as efficient as Pakistani public are, supported this callous act. It has been reported that 14 police officers including Rana Muhammad Ilyas, the SHO Sadar Sialkot, witnessed the heartrending incident but did not intervene to guard the boys.

The President said that only by bringing the culprits to justice will give some confidence to the people that it was a civilized society. —Dawn News. Whereas the mother says that she wants the murderers to be killed the same way, and if she didn’t get the justice, it would mean there is no law in this country.

In a nutshell, it was an act of infamy, shame and brutality. Who should we trust now?   Public?  Police? Or this well known rescue service? Did the two deserve this? Even if they were criminals, this was not the right way to punish them. Nobody even kills animals such miserably. The perpetrators will probably feel the pain when their own sons will be beaten to death like this; the video footage was hard for ordinary people with a ‘heart’ to watch it. How the mother of the two would have felt at that time???It is the time to think. All of us, including me are responsible for this cruel act. We must get united in a positive way and raise our voices and ask for justice. If we do not act, this would happen to our own brothers, our own sons and we will be responsible for their deaths so  Wake up Nation, Its time to act!

Aisam-ul-Haq: a hero for Pakistani Nation

By: Anam Sajid (09U0191)

‘Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi a hero for Pakistani fans’, ‘Another Pride of Performance likely for Aisam’, ‘Aisam-ul-Haq a star of excellence’, ‘Aisam selected as Champion of Peace’, ‘Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi overshadows cricketers, lifts nation’, ‘Afridi asks players to seek inspiration from Aisam’. These are the headlines of various national and international newspapers and the common word in all of these is AISAM.

AISAM-UL-HAQ QURESHI is the best tennis player that Pakistan has ever produced. Playing in the biggest tournaments of the world, with the champions and history makers of tennis, Aisam surely has come a long way. Aisam started playing tennis at the age of 14 under the guidance of his mother, Nausheen Ihtisham, a former 10-time national champion.  Since that day, there was no looking back.

With dedication and hard work, Aisam soon became Pakistan’s Under-16 champion. Two years later, he became Pakistan’s Under-18 champion.  At that point, Aisam stepped up and aimed to play internationally. He got selected by ITF and soon became Asia’s top tennis player. Fortunately, the success did not get to his head but made him extra determined to strive for more and more.

In an interview with Dawn Newspaper on Tuesday, 13^th April, 2010 Aisam showed his concern towards young rising tennis players who are indecisive to pursue tennis as a career. His exact words were, “Their families need to understand that tennis can be a professional career choice too”. Aisam believes that “Pakistan tennis has improved by leaps and bounds in the last five years but it has yet to get the kind of attention that cricket gets.”

In year 2002, Aisam had to face the controversy that had taken much hype in Pakistan as he had paired with Amir Hadad, an Israeli for his doubles match at Wimbledon. During an interview, by Daily News on Tuesday, 12^th July, 2002, Aisam was asked that will he be pairing with Hadad again, Aisam replied: "Why not? I don't like to interfere religion or politics into sports. You can't do this, you know. You have to keep sport as a sport and just enjoy it". After Wimbledon, Qureshi and Hadad played the second round of US Open where they were acknowledged, for playing together, with the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Award. Aisam happened to be the first Pakistani to receive this award.

For the period of 1998 and 2004 he has won 33 Singles and Doubles titles and ended up runner up on 20 occasions in international tournaments. In 2001 he was the first Pakistani to qualify for the Wimbledon Grand Slam Tennis Championship after a gap of 34 years.

2010 was a year of calamity for Pakistan. Being ruined by floods, ambushed by terrorism and humiliated over the cricket scandal, Aisam brought a ray of optimism for the people of Pakistan. For the very first time in his entire life, Aisam qualified in the finals of mixed doubles at the US Open, partnered with Kveta Peschke. He also qualified in the final of men’s doubles at US Open, with Rohan Bopanna. This diverted the attention of the citizens of Pakistan from the dreadful happenings to new prospects. People who loved tennis or not, all prayed for Aisam. Though, Aisam did not win the finals, but he surely did give his opponents, quite a run for the title.

In his first interview after his men’s double and mixed doubles finals of the US Open he said that since the start of the current year, his world ranking had become a lot better and was getting improved further. He said that his next target was Air and Masters Tournament in which eight top players and teams of the world take part.

Aisam created history for Pakistan by qualifying in the finals of the US Open. At the award ceremony of the final of men’s doubles match of the US Open, Aisam took the mic and addressed 15,000 people at the Arthur Ashe Stadium, which was accommodating the biggest crowd to watch a Grand Slam Doubles Finale. Aisam started with wishing ‘Eid Mubarak’ to Pakistanis and Muslims all over. "I want to say something on behalf of all Pakistanis," he said. "It is the wrong perception that Pakistan is a terrorist country. We are friendly, loving, caring people and we want peace as much as you guys want it. May God love us all". Millions of people were watching this on their television all over the world. Aisam continued, "There are extremists in every religion, but just because of them you cannot judge the whole country as a terrorist nation. I just wanted to get this message across as a Pakistani." Together, with his doubles partner Rohan Bopanna they have created the Indo-Pak Express. In reference to Aisam’s message, his opponent, Bob said. "Just to give that message to everyone was very heartfelt. What they are doing is a lot more important than winning the U.S. Open."
Aisam-ul-Haq is surely a hero of Pakistani nation. The support of the whole nation is with him.

It's time to act.

By Muhammad Abid Ali Goraya
o9u0596.

Participation in the politics of the country is the right of every human being living in that country and in my opinion its an obligation. Governments are established in order to govern the people, to work for the people and to do everything possible for the betterment of the population which is being governed. It is common sense that a government which does not represent the majority will not be able to perform well for the people, that is why dictatorship, monarchy and fake democracy can function properly for a short period of time but in the long run they cannot fulfill the demand of the people.The reasons for this is that a government who does not know the problems, the demands of the majority will not be able to solve the problems and will not be able to take proper intitatives for them. In order to establish a government which represents its population, people, we have to partcipate in politics.They are the ones who have to select their representatives and form a government which works for them. this is unforunately not the case in Pakistan.

Since its independance in 1947 Pakistan has not seen democracy ever.The only government that came close to the term 'True Democaracy' was that of Z.A Bhutto during the 70's. Other era's have always been influenced by antidemocratic forces within and outside the country. The governments have come and gone on regular basis. My analysts are of the view that in Pakistan come and go with the consent of antdemocratic forces. In my opinion we have ourselves to blame for it. Lack of participation by the people in Pakistan is very common ; noone is intersted in it.The sad and unfortunate part is that least concerned people are those who are literate and educated. In urban areas of Pakistan the turn out during the election is extremely low and people don't even bother to register and cast theier votes. The end result is the same old faces of the political scene return via obliging and forcing the poor people and getting thier votes which in turn results in no development and sustained corruption.

There is another problem in our political system which is the role of family in selecting canditates. According to the constitution of Pakistan each and every Pakistani has a right to contest the elections but unfortunately everytime we keep on seeing the same old faces or their sons or daughters appearing. No one is ready to step up, gather the support , make people aware and change the system. This problem has resulted in a hige loss to Pakistan and its people, as politicians know that there seat is confirmed  and do nothing for the people.