My Land Pakistan

My Land Pakistan Shifted to Wordpress

2010-05-04T22:27:00.000+05:00

Dear all,

i want to say a big Thank You to you all for reading my posts, and giving me comments and suggestions. i have been a brand loyl with blogger.com for more then a year but for some reason for last many days i was having some problems with it, therefore My Land Pakistan has shifted to mylandpakistan.wordpress.com mylandpakistan.wordpress.com however you can still use the url www.mylandpakistan.com to reach the real location of my blog. Kindly bookmark the new address and add it to reading list from now onwards all the blogs will now be posted there.
but this might be for the time being soon My Land Pakistan will be upgraded to its own domain INSHALLAH.

sorry for the inconvience

Love your County Love your Land

Regards,

Rai M Azlan

Paperwork Caused all.

2010-05-03T13:26:00.005+05:00

The result of Pakistan Vs Australia is exactly what I was expecting, but it does not mean that I was not hopping well for my team. I was supporting Pakistan as always but still somewhere deep down in my heart there was a doubt.

Afridi says that the experiments didn’t work against the big one. I do not understand why he made Hafeez to bowl all 4 overs when Hafeez was nervous to bowl against Watson, at that time Afridi should have bring Abdul Razaq to attack. In bowling time it was good to see that Afridi’s ball was pitching in right area and how can I forget the last over in which Pakistan made record by taking five wickets on giving no run. Kamran Akmal Dropped Watson and Salman Butt Dropped David Hussy and both these men took team Australia to a hard total.

I personally believe that the drop catch by Salman Butt is the one big reason for us to loose, just think for a second if David Hussy was caught at that time then there was less chances of four sixes in coming over.

I am very disappointed at the batting performance of the team 8 out of 10 wickets were catch outs which surly indicates that the guys were in hurry to finish off. The score was not as hard as the panic batsmen made it, There was no need for Kamran Akmal to play that shot on the 2ns ball of the innings, Butt should have pulled that ball without using foot work, well this post will become very long if I start to pick each and every point that lead to the defeat.

Afridi played well but I think he should have patience at that time because at that time his presence on the wicket could have made a big difference any how it was good to see that Afridi is getting his form back. Anyhow I believe that the whole team must focus on being calm when chasing such total the target was achievable and at many moments it was looking as if Pakistan going to make it but I would say again panic thing came into the scene.

I have a suggestion to make Coach and captain should follow the happenings in the ground while the game on and change the game plan accordingly rather than following the work done on the note pads, and pre match planning as I always say Cricket is the game of ground and it want decision according to the moment.

well in the end i am leaving you with the video of the best final over i have ever seen:

Congrats on First win #PakCricket

2010-05-02T02:05:00.000+05:00

Congratulations to all the Pakistanis on the first win after an interesting and close game. Pakistan played well that’s what victory is indicating but still there are many areas where we were lacking. First if we notice no one hit boundary other then openers. No doubt openers did great job, they scored the first opening partnership of 100 runs in the tournament. Selman Butt has proved that Afridi was right about him, the performance of Butt made him Man of the match and it has shut many mouths including mine.
In bowling are we need so many points to focus on, Sami as always a big question mark, he is such a nice bowler on nets that even the half of what he do on net he brings in a real game he can become one of the best one, in early overs he was not well but no doubt Sami was the man who brought us back into the game by two wickets in an over. Sami need a lot of hard work to bowl in early overs in not to bowl short.
Aamir proved that why he is my favorite chap in the team he took the wicket of danger man Ashraful who was leading Bangladesh towards a sure victory. Afridi’s bowling performance was a big issue for me as he was not in his colors the kind of shots Ashraful hit him, I believe only Kevin Peterson is capable to hit that way to Afridi.
Afridi is not a person who takes pressure that way he must focus on his individual performance as well but I must say his captaincy was amazing gambling with Sami at a time when both the men on crease were on fire and then giving Aamir an over to get the wicket was good decision. Akmal wicket keeping is still not satisfactory that’s what I can say giving him the leverage of his batting performance.
Well in the end the best team won and no wonder Pakistan is best any day, now the best one have to get ready to face another best one tomorrow so best of luck to team Pakistan for it.

here is what score card says (courtesy: Cricinfo):

Pakistan innings (20 overs maximum)		R	B	4s	6s	SR
	Kamran Akmal†	c Abdur Razzak b Shakib Al Hasan	73	55	8	1	132.72
	Salman Butt	b Shafiul Islam	73	46	8	2	158.69
	Shahid Afridi*	c Mahmudullah b Shakib Al Hasan	9	9	0	0	100.00
	Abdul Razzaq	not out	6	5	0	0	120.00
	Misbah-ul-Haq	not out	8	5	0	0	160.00
	Extras	(lb 2, w 1)	3

	Total	(3 wickets; 20 overs)	172	(8.60 runs per over)

Did not bat Mohammad Hafeez, Umar Akmal, Fawad Alam, Mohammad Aamer, Mohammad Sami, Saeed Ajmal

Fall of wickets1-142 (Kamran Akmal, 15.5 ov), 2-156 (Shahid Afridi, 17.6 ov), 3-158 (Salman Butt, 18.2 ov)


Bowling	O	M	R	W	Econ
Mashrafe Mortaza	4	0	39	0	9.75	(1w)
Abdur Razzak	4	0	41	0	10.25
Shafiul Islam	4	0	25	1	6.25
Naeem Islam	2	0	18	0	9.00
Shakib Al Hasan	4	0	27	2	6.75
Suhrawadi Shuvo	1	0	12	0	12.00
Mohammad Ashraful	1	0	8	0	8.00


Bangladesh innings (target: 173 runs from 20 overs)		R	B	4s	6s	SR
Tamim Iqbal	c & b Mohammad Hafeez	19	18	3	0	105.55
Imrul Kayes	c Misbah-ul-Haq b Mohammad Aamer	0	2	0	0	0.00
Mohammad Ashraful	c †Kamran Akmal b Mohammad Aamer	65	49	4	3	132.65
Shakib Al Hasan*	c Umar Akmal b Mohammad Sami	47	31	3	2	151.61
Mahmudullah	c Mohammad Aamer b Mohammad Sami	0	3	0	0	0.00
Naeem Islam	not out	10	9	1	0	111.11
Mushfiqur Rahim†	c Saeed Ajmal b Mohammad Sami	4	3	0	0	133.33
Mashrafe Mortaza	st †Kamran Akmal b Saeed Ajmal	1	3	0	0	33.33
Suhrawadi Shuvo	not out	1	3	0	0	33.33
Extras	(w 3, nb 1)	4

Total	(7 wickets; 20 overs)	151	(7.55 runs per over)

Did not bat Shafiul Islam, Abdur Razzak

Fall of wickets1-1 (Imrul Kayes, 0.6 ov), 2-31 (Tamim Iqbal, 5.3 ov), 3-122 (Shakib Al Hasan, 15.2 ov),4-123 (Mahmudullah, 15.6 ov), 5-140 (Mohammad Ashraful, 17.5 ov), 6-145 (Mushfiqur Rahim, 18.3 ov),7-150 (Mashrafe Mortaza, 19.3 ov)


Bowling	O	M	R	W	Econ
Mohammad Aamer	4	0	16	2	4.00
Mohammad Sami	4	0	29	3	7.25	(1w)
Mohammad Hafeez	3	0	28	1	9.33	(1w)
Abdul Razzaq	2	0	23	0	11.50	(1nb)
Saeed Ajmal	3	0	18	1	6.00	(1w)
Shahid Afridi	4	0	37	0	9.25

Time for the Action- Best of luck team Pakistan #PakCricket

2010-05-01T21:51:00.001+05:00

So the wait is over,

and the time has come;

for the real action

It’s the time for,

the champions to prove,

Now the world will see;

the master of the game,

Go out in the ground

and beat the big names.

All the best

TEAM PAKISTAN

That’s what I am feeling right now as the time of Team Pakistan’s First game in T20 World Cup is coming close. I hope and pray that INSHALLAH the Champions will defend their gold. Team

Pakistan

will prove once again that: Yeh Mera Game Hay (Its My Game).

Well through out the tournament after every game of Pakistan there will be a blog post reviewing the performance and describing future expectations. For now I just want to wish All the Best to Pakistani Team for the game against Pakistan. Go Go team

Pakistan

; I am sure that Pakistani Eagles will supersede Bangla Tigers INSHALLAH

Best of Luck team Pakistan for the game and for whole tournament. Fight well to defend the title and leave the result on the Supreme Power, let HIM decide the fate after reviewing the hard work.

Youm e shuhada- a Tribute to the true Pakistanis

2010-04-30T23:34:00.005+05:00

They are our heroes indeed, no matter we accept it or not. We call them whatever we want to following the hattired injected in us for last many years but there is who else who put his life on a line to make us safe. Who is fighting this war on the extreme of front line. These are our brave soldiers and this reality will not change if we accept it or not. Army has observed this day (30^th April) as Youm-e-Shuhada (days of Martyrs) to recognize all those soldiers who sacrificed their lives for Pakistan.

According to Daily The News:

A number of functions to observe the day were being organized at General Headquarters and Corps Headquarters levels at the respective station on Friday, being the first Youm-e-Shuhada.

Over 2,000 kin and relatives of the martyrs have been invited to attend a function being held at the GHQ, where different speakers would pay tributes to the national heroes.

Similarly, a sizeable number of near and dear ones of the martyrs have been invited to attend the functions to be held at the Corps Headquarters.

In the end I am putting here a video to dedicate all he true Sons of this Soil, and one more thing whatever other says but the reality will remain the same you all are our Soldiers you all are our heroes and I Salute you for what you have done for me and My land Pakistan.

Picture of the Day: Petrol Wandi Da

2010-04-30T00:42:00.001+05:00

The thing caught my attention while i was going to a bakery, was the great numbers of Bikes Gathered on a Petrol filling station, here are the few pictures i could manage to click.

Well this gathering does not mean that the filling station was giving the fuel away for free or on special discount. The reason behind this mess is the fact that month is going to end and there is expectation of Increase in oil prices.

See how smart we people are, we foresee the things before they actually happen but still we let them happen we are most patient people on this planet who do not even rise voice against the wrong around. I know that oil prices are increasing all over the globe but i want to know that when globally prices were less how much advantage being a common man i had.

We have to pay more then 73 Rupees to get one litter Petrol where as the NATO forces are getting it in Ruppees 46. and they are getting it here in Pakistan, Kya yeh Khula Tizad Nahi ( isnt it contradictory)

Get Smarter Access Control With FaceXs

2010-04-28T13:53:00.000+05:00

Every optical scanner is a camera, this is the fact which I never realized before visiting Solo Smart inc. this past Friday I was lucky enough to see one of the greatest achievement and innovation by Pakistan. I am talking about FaceXs (Facial Recognition Device) a device which can handle almost every issue regarding access control.

Security is a big issue today even at schools kids have to go through scanning this the best example I could give, but security is one new thing as a few years back security was not as big issue as it is now however there is one thing which is there for a long time and that is ghost attendance at workplaces specially when it is a government institution. Many things came into the scene, RFID system, biometric scanners and many other things.

The card scanning system Also known as RFID system is something which is very famous snapping card to get access to the controlled areas just like what we have seen in old 007 movies. Are we still sure that there is no ghost attendance in practice when RFID is doing its job. Sure one can show more than one cards to mark the attendance, and there are some issues too card got stolen, one forget to carry it, and it got scratched even.

To me RFID is not a cost effective idea, generating so many cards and keep issuing them after the occurrence of any of the above issues. Every year companies have to spend big bucks every time they issue new cards. The one thing I like about FaceXs is it is one time investment no need to issue new cards and the best thing “one can forget to carry his card but no one fill forget to bring his face with him”.

Now come to the technology of finger prints and thumb impressions, not a bad Idea but still one have to touch the machine. Imagine that the finger is soak with cream, ghee, sweat, or any other thing and the scanning panel. I do not think that I have to say any other thing as if you have good imagination you can get idea what the scanning surface has to go through.

Just show your face to the optical scanner and you are in; no need to carry card and cleaning the surface after the finger touched it. Start counting the advantages:

FaceXs can be integrated with any electrical door
the price is only 125000 Rupees which is far more economical than any other product produced here in Pakistan or Imported one
extremely easy to use
it only required 12 volts of power so it can easily work on UPS,
it will scan your face no matter if it is wet with sweat or water,
FaceXs have no issue in scanning your face even if you have applied some cream or any thing like that on your face
it is completely fine if you have started to keep mustaches, or you havnt shaven for many days
it is portable and do not occupy huge space
it makes the 3d image of the face so it will only scan your face ( I tested it on Picture)

While talking to man behind the product, Farhan Masood I got to know some interesting facts. He said that they tested FaceXs on identical twins and out of ten pairs it identified eight of them correct and for remaining two they have issued cards, FaceXs also have RFID panel to coup with such situations and it can help in managing the records of visitors and allowing them to enter only after snapping the cards where as regular employees have to “face” it. It has internal record keeping/ backup system so if it is disconnected from the main network it stores data in the internal memory and we can get that data from the USB port which is under the device. Farhan Bhai also said that they offer installation as well as one day training and solo smart is available for the backup support when ever it is required.

Farhan Bhai says that it is a device which cannot be fooled, it is a revolution in the technology field of Pakistan. To me it is one of the greatest innovations ever took place in Pakistan and it's a must to have device at a workplace where at least 25 people visit every day. The features and advantages it offers are far more then the cost one have to pay, and lets face it FaceXs is one time cost that will serve you for long time and give you surety that the workplace is safe from ghost attendance, there is something called access controlled and one more thing you can avoid unwanted guests. ;)

DELL in LUMS

2010-04-27T23:54:00.001+05:00

DELL Pakistan held an event at LUMS last Friday, which was organized by LUMS Marketing Executive Club. All thanks goes to Tariq bhai whose wall post was the source of information about the event and I decided to be there as it was my day-off. When I reached the NIB hall Ayesha Alam was wrapping up her session I could only catch her advice to turn of google geo-location but this advice was not for me being a boy.
This event added a lot of things into my information e.g. Core I was launched in March and it is said to be the world's smallest chip. Nubla Iftikhar, Marketing Manager of DELL Pakistan was surprised to know that no one in the hall had seen the advertisement of worlds smallest chip. Mr. Google (that's what Miss Nubla said) Bader Khushnood was also there and he described his views on DELL Pakistan campaign and also gave some tips for the online marketing campaigns.
Bader bhai said; DELL do not have a website in Pakistan there for the fan page on Facebook was a great idea to stay in touch with current and potential customers, -- well I think by launching a fan page DELL actually made the users fan of DELL if we take this factor this way, but there is no doubt DELL Pakistan's campaign is the most talk about marketing campaign of last year, as Bader Bhai said the whole activity was online and they never used, any offline source. “When ever you are going for a campaign engagement is the key word” , said Bader Bhai.
Mr. Imran, Punjab Lead INTEL was also there to elaborate the presence of the INTEL inside the DELL. His presentation was short and simple but the whole process of making the presentation possible took sometime.
Miss. Nubla gave some idea about the product so that the contestants can gather some idea about the thing for which they were about to give a marketing plan. I think, I forgot to mention that the main attraction of the event was the competition of marketing plan for DELL. I was not part of competition as I was not having any one to team with, and I think I could not listen to the ideas of others as I did in this way if I was in competition. let me put what Nubla said about DELL's products; DELL is offering three products:

DELL Mini, it is based on Atom Pro and have less price then other DELL laptops.
DELL Inspiron, and it is available with Core i3, Core i5, or Core i7 it is affordable when it comes to price.
DELL Studio, it is having Core i5 or Core i7 and it is slightly expensive (not slightly in real sense)

In the competition there were so many interesting ideas and some of them were really amazing and I am sorry but I have to say (without taking any name) one or two ideas made me sleepy as I found them really boring. A Group came up with idea of SMS campaign and Youtube Videos, and other come up with the idea of MMS along with PWP and GWP promotions, another group come up with a brilliant Idea of DELL City the idea was to have a game, in which player will build cities and get higher ranks and at every rank he will get some gift.
A group said that as April is a Cancer awareness month as well as the hiking month in northern areas so we can interlink both the things with DELL, where as another group said that promotion should be done through real people rather then fan pages and groups. Some of the ideas or the presentations were funny, as a group kept on saying Twister while they were supposed to say Twitter, and a group said that why don't DELL have Sania Mirza as Brand ambassador.
There was one thing common in most of the ideas and that was the Gaming factor, many groups were stressing on the point of having a game for DELL, some asked to develop a new one and some other said to integrate with any existing game. To me this gaming factor is a result of air wave spread by FarmVille which caused a unique kind of flu that almost everyone is sneezing in this way.
Rabia Gharib, The Editor in Chief of CIO Pakistan was the moderator, of the event and she kept cracking some jokes and asking questions during the presentations but one thing she said is stuck in that part of my brain where I keep advises of the people. She said, “Marketing is very high priced just start don't ask for time.” And it was the reply to a group which was asking if they have some more time to carry on their presentation.
Well a group called E-Scavengersrs were declared the winners and this was the group which gave the idea of MMS along with PWP + GWP Promotion, they got 3 things starting with the letter L, they got three 17 inches LCD Monitors from DELL. Well I am really thank full to the member of same group who was wearing IBM shirt for confirming the spellings of their group name.

LUMS HR Confluence 2010

2010-04-24T22:07:00.001+05:00

Past experiences make you do a lot of things, sometimes a good experience give you a lifelong effect and that is what dragged me to LUMS last week (April 17^th) and this time reason as LUMS HR Confluence 2010. Ever since I got to know about this event I was eager to be there as it was amazing to be there at LUMS Marketing Colloquium.

HR Confluence was a one day event having panel discussions, workshops and a competition called HR Maestro Competition. When I reached the place I was assure of one thing that I was late but as one of my friend says that you are never late at any event if you are in Pakistan. Here I must thank Tariq Bhai who helped me in getting information and all the process for joining this even and he also helped me on the day for registration process. While I was registering myself for the event I met Usman Latif whom I met at Google Mapping Party last time.

Usman and I made our way to the NIB hall, the event was divided into two parts one was for the corporate + students having the workshops and panel discussions and the other was only for students and it was HR Maestro Competition there were case presentations and a quiz competition. I decided to be in former one that’s why I was in NIB hall. The event was officially started at 10 am with the opening ceremony.

Dr. Anwar Khurshid, Faculty LUMS gave the welcome notes and he said that there are three reason for him to like this whole event, 1. It’s a student led initiative, 2. It is a great opportunity to build linkages, it gives old-timers (like him) to see old students to be back in LUMS. Dr. Zafar Iqbal Qureshi was the next one to come and he described the whole development of HR in Pakistan since the very beginning that how current HR management scenario developed which used to be just controlling administration functions back in 50s and 60s. The third speaker was Mr. Moeez Karim, the Marketing Manager, Consumer Product Division, Packages. He was looking bit nervous during his speech and he himself revealed the reason as he said that he has given so many exams sitting in the very same hall during his LUMS days. He said that at the time of recruitment; Skills, desire, motivation is important but individual goals play the major part.

After the opening ceremony there was a Networking Tea; during this session I got chance to network with the other students how came for the same event from different parts of Pakistan, and I also got chance to meet Saadi Rauf, The President of LMEC and Hammad Qazi, The Vice President of LMEC. It was nice meeting them again after the LUMS Marketing Colloquium. I must say that I was actually feeling sorry for Hammad as he was wearing Suit on a day which can be given as example of how hot the summers of Lahore are.

Now it was the time for Panel Discussion on Talent Management, Mr. Mohsin Khan (international HR Consultant) was the moderator of the discussion and in panel there were Mr. Shoaib Ahmed (manager HR, TetraPak Pakistan), Ma’am Zainab Khan (Recruitment, Compensation & Training Manager, ICI Pakistan), and Mr. Umair Malik who was representing Engro Corp. there were few point that were new for me in the presentations but to me and some other fellows (why should only I take the whole responsibility) it was more of a marketing session where the presenters gave the idea about their company more then what actually happening there in for the HR and Talent management however in Q&A sessions many questions somehow overcome this thing as they were quite relevant questions.

“What is Changing” that was the name of workshop on change management by Ma’am Shireen Naqvi, Navitus. One of the best workshops I have ever been in, that’s what I have to say about it. Many things I learnt which I feel now that I never realized before as at one point she said, “If you are a liar, you are not human yet”. She also told us the best school which teaches us all the values required to live a good life and the school is MKG (Maan Ki Goad—Lap of Mother) she also said, “We are great as individuals but can’t play together”. She also collected the points essential for excellence from the audience and told us that change everything but do not let them to change. There was another practice called GHQ and I must say it’s a great frustration buster for me (it has nothing to do with the general head quarters).

I don’t know about others but by now I was feeling hungry and at that time the best session was about to start and it was Networking Luncheon. Again got chance to talk to many people and exchange some ideas met some old fellows from PU, met an interesting person, Asif Khan who is a trainer and inspirational speaker. I also got chance to talk to Shaukat A Brah Dean of Salman Dawood School of Business, LUMS. I must say it was really nice talking to him and again I picked up some good points from the chit chat that I know will be helpful throughout my life.

Panel discussion on Use of Social Media in HR, was the next thing to come and I was actually waiting for this as Mr. Adeel Anwar (Netsol) and Mr. Badar Khushnood (Google) was the part of it, I really like these two people and both of them are in the list of those amazing people that I met in last one year. The other panelists were Mr. Monis Rehman (CEO, Rozee.PK) and Ma’am Andaleeb Abbas (CEO, Franklin Covey Pakistan). This panel discussion was more interesting and informative then the previous one and some good facts I came to know during the presentations. However one thing that I learnt was the fact; “there is no problem with the technologies the problem is with the people using them” and it was said by Ma’am Andleeb while answering a question.

It was time for the attraction of the even that’s what I believe about the workshop “Out of the Box Thinking: Managing your own Talent” by Mr. Nadeem Chawhan (Navitus). Brilliant is the word that can possibly describe what I experienced in that workshop. I must say Mr. Chawhan is a great presenter and motivating speaker and his witty style awesome and he actually make us all to think that “What Is Potential”. He presented many complex aspects of HR in his signature style and I must say that I never been able to understand HR as easily as I did during the workshop.

It was the time to close the ceremony and distribute the certificates and shields. One thing I forgot IBIT, Punjab University got 2^nd Position in the HR Maestro Competition; and my friend Syed Hassan Talal was the part of it, many congratulations to the team from PU, and FC College University was the winner of the competition.

Networking tea was the final part of the event, and I got chance to talk to Mr. Naweed Masood Ali, President LUMS HR Executive Club; what a humble person he is and he had a reason to be happy because the event goes very well and I want to utilize this opportunity to congratulate him and his team on holding such a wonderful event and I am also thankful to Naweed as he helped me in being the part of the event.

That’s it that was my experience about being in LUMS for the second time, I know this post is really long but that is one thing I do not know; how to precise the things and still do the justice. One more thing before I end this thanks to Usman Latif for all the tips and suggestions he gave.

PS click here and here to read the tweets i made during the event

Exploring the safari… and Busting the Frustration.

2010-04-20T06:49:00.000+05:00

Whenever I have been questioned about my hobbies I present huge list but few things which never changed or dropped from this list are “reading books, meeting people, and traveling”. And when I say this I mean this, it is not because it’s a golden answer to reply when you are asked about your hobbies.
My days of unemployment ended back in January and since then I am working for one of a renowned brand in the telecom sector of Pakistan. Believe me when I say this that now with all those days I spent with this workplace I am having one of the best time of my life and all the frustration I had in the beginning because of new place and new work and all that. The main reason for me adjusting there is the people, all of them are great and all the seniors are like my teachers, and my badge mates are like my amigos.
I think this post is going to some other way so let’s drag it back to the beautiful morning of march 2010. It was the day when the team I am part of was going for a trip to bust the daily schedule; at first I was not very interested in going on this trip. Anyhow I was forced to go there but when I got to know that all the people who are really special for me are also going, this information made me to be happy on my decision of going for the trip as I was aware that these seniors will defiantly make this trip an amazing one.
Today when I recall that day the first thing come into my mind is the awesome weather in Lahore and the other thing is PAKORAs that I had in breakfast all thanks to Muneel Bhai. By the way, we were going to a resort at Head Baloki (no wonder that I have forgotten the name of that resort but I think it was something like RANA)
I visited head baloki back in 1997 and found it really boring place but this resort was amazing, green fields beautiful trees and the weather was creating this moment more magical for me. Well I have taken a few pictures and you can see them and realize how amazing weather was that day. The fun begin with Abbasi Bhai and Sohail Bhai's songs in some weird language which they were claiming to be Pashto.
We also explored the safari which is the main attraction of this resort and we also played cricket in swimming pool, well there is no need to bang your head to know how come one can play cricket in swimming pool so let me clarify that considering the water issue the whole country is facing this pool was not having water.
It was a great day indeed, and every great day in my life has one thing in common and that is food—two words Awesome Food we had there, Biryani, Chicken Ginger and the specialty of the place Fish was in the menu. We were also having some talented singers with us and for sure those were not outsiders as they were from our call center. While in the evening we were enjoying the weather these three people created the moment musical and I noticed that the ostriches really enjoy music as they started to gather near the fence while the music was on, and one more thing I saw egg of ostrich for the first time in life.
That was the time it started to rain and we had to drag our one man show competetion under trees, it was an amazing competition and Asad Bhai won it though it is still controversial. While we were coming back to Lahore I was really feeling some positive changes in me as somehow I busted the frustration in me and all thank goes to my team. The last attraction of the trip was the hang out in KFC. Today when I recall that day I feel like that I had a great day when I was close to the nature and enjoying myself while having number of amazing people around me.
About the place I visited, I have to say that it’s a good place to have picnic with family (well I am not paid to say so, one must consider that I am right and see it to believe it), it’s been maintain very well the decoration is awesome, and the safari is also crafted with trees from Africa, one more thing they also arrange legal hunting adventure of Black Deer. In a nut shell if you are planning to have a safari experience in Pakistan it is a good place to when you want to keep the budget economical.

Dr. Israr Ahmed- Rest in Peace

2010-04-15T23:14:00.001+05:00

Early in the morning when I was checking my text messages, I got on shocking news and it was about the Death of Dr. Israr Ahmed. I was actually in the state of shock when the news bounced on me, my friend confirmed the news. Another great person has left the world that’s what I can say. I know that whatever I would write for him will not be enough to match the greatness of late Dr. Israr.

Dr. Israr is also a part of my childhood memory, I still remember that I and Baba Jani (my father) many times offered Juma Prayer in Bagh e Jinnah as Dr. Israr Ahmed used to do the Imamat of the prayer and the speech before the prayer was one of the reason which kept dragging my father there. Well in those days I was not aware of what this all about but with the passage of time two Islamic scholars left a great impact on my way of thinking one is Dr. Israr, and other is late Dr. Ghulam Murtaza Malik (what a smile that man had).

Dr. Israr Ahmed was once member of Jamat e Islami and as much as I know he remain Nazim e Ala (president) of Islami Jamit e Tulba (student wing of JI), but left JI because as per Dr. Israr JI was not doing what actually it was made for. Tanzeem e Islami is the name of organization he was running to spread the message of Quran. I really admire the way he used to describe and elaborate the verses of Quran so that lay man like me can also understand what the real message was; I also read some of the Islamic literature written by him. He was also a big fan of Iqbal and his philosophy.

Once on TV, I say his office and that sight is still save in my mind a lot of books on the table, more books on the table behind his seat and shelf full of books and at that time I prayed from the bottom of my heart that Allah also make me such good reader. To me it’s not just a loss of Tanzeem e Islami (Islamic teaching organization founded by Dr. Israr) nor the Pakistan to me whole Muslim world will miss his presence now as an enormous Islamic Scholar is no more with us. In life I have many regrets and I believe that I won’t be able to get rid of them, and not been able to join Dr. Israr’s Namaz e Jinazah has added one more thing in my regret list.(in picture Grave of Dr. Israr Ahmad, Picture courtesy Khawar Mehmood)

One more thing which was making me sad is the attitude of our media, one of the leading news channels was busy in broadcasting the Sangeet ceremony of Sania and Shoaib, and followed by the fuss of Veena Malik and Muhammad Asif, after all this crap they gave the news of Dr. Israr’s death and at that time I was watching TV to know more about the tragedy. This attitude made me really angry, these stupid media people has no idea what we have lost, the time we are going thorough right now we really need people like Dr. Israr who can teach us what actually Quran says, but these media people were busy in making their news more glamorous rather than paying homage to such a great soul. Yeah sometimes I also say something which proves to be true again and again, so I would like to say it again, “as a whole nation, priorities are one of the major issues we have, and attitude of media is one big example.”

the link below have the videos of Dr. Israrh Ahmed Janazah and Burial Ceremony:

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Death+of+Dr+Israr+Ahmed++(Burial+Ceremony)&aq=f

Ahmad Rushdi-- some of my favorite songs

2010-04-11T13:08:00.000+05:00

Last night when I got back home after my work, for many people it was weekend night but not for me due to the type of job I am in however when I logged in my twitter account there was a tweet by one of my green friend Ammar Haider, regarding the legendary singer Ahmad Rushdi. That tweet has made me recall all the classics and hits by Ahmad Rushdi. What an experience it was to listen these melodies therefore I decided to share some of my favorite songs by him to pay a tribute to an almost forgotten legend. One more thing in Urdu Films he was the voice of the super star Waheed Murad, even Waheed Murad said on the death of Ahmad that I have lost my voice now. The ever green song Ko Ko Korina was the first urdu pop song of Pakistan Hisory.

Ok enough form my side here are some golden hits of Ahmad Rushid:

this one is one of my most favorite

(a perfect night time music)

Live Performances:

there are alot more in my list but right now i think it is enoug for now some other day i will share some more of my favorite songs till than let me know how was these pieces out of my collection. and one more thing these songs are dedicated to Ammar Haider who make me recall all these songs and Yousuf Rafi who liked the songs i floated on twitter.

18th Amendment-- Good Job Done, now what about other issues

2010-04-11T12:20:00.000+05:00

So the 18th amendment has been made in the constitution and it was long due, it took more then 2 years to get this outcome. It is good news indeed as at a certain level it was an ultimate need now it’s been said that now institutions have been made stronger. One of my friends asked me after congratulating me on this historic outcome that what does these stronger institutions mean, and how good it will be. I don’t know what these stronger institutions are about. Well it does not mean that I am in favor of a stronger individual and centralized power in a state, but the issue is that I am in favor of supremacy of law rather than supremacy of a body or a human. Unless and until there is no supremacy of law even 118th amendment won’t do anything.

No doubt the outcome is great and historic and many issues have been resolved and many new issues have popped out. It was a major issue, according to our so called leaders. Okay I accept it that it was the major issue of this country, but that is what I am ready to accept but is every one ready to accept this fact. a few days back I was talking to a man who is from a province which once was known as NWFP, and he said that name is not a major issue we need bread, shelter and education that’s what we demand, they might give it any name e.g. Abdul Ghafoor (no offence with the name, that was what that guy said) or any other name it will not solve the real issues that we are facing every day.

almost the same answers I get from the people-- common men whom I talked with on this issue, every common has one thing to say that these are the luxuries of these royal people a common man won’t be able to get anything we need food, we need petrol, we want to get rid of this bloody load shedding, we want to see this price hike coming down and the list goes on. I took a deep look of this list and couldn’t find anything that this new 18 number gift has in its box.

so now when this MAJOR issue of this nation has been resolved now the ruling parties PPP and PMLN must consider the minor issues like law and order, price hike, oil prices, water issue, health, load shedding, education and many more. Well I am in my senses that I mentioned PMLN as the ruling party as I can not find anything called opposition in the assembly. Honestly speaking I maintain what I have said many times before that I can find anything called government in this country these days.

In the end I want to congratulate the nation on getting this gift called 18th amendment, and I hope this proves to be something that results in supremacy of law rather than powerful individuals and bodies. I also want to request the thing which is according to few people is government kindly do something for the common people who ultimate choose who is going to rule, for god sake try to realize that every human is answerable and the people in power are no different.

Guest Blog: Ojri Camp : April 10,1988

2010-04-10T10:14:00.004+05:00

{ the following post is the lead story at The Pakistani Spectator and its been contributed by: Jamshed Khan}

April 10,1988, a day that remains etched in memory. Impossible to forget. It happened when terror attacks had not become as numbingly routine as they have today. That fateful day began in Rawalpindi and Islamabad just like any other day. People started going to offices and schools. Then suddenly,some ominus sounds were heard. One blast,then another, then another, followed by so many that no other sound could be heard.For some reason, I had been delayed that day. If I had been on the road at that time, I could easily have become another casualty.
But what on earth was happening ? Nobody seemed to know.Some thought it was an Indian invasion.The only sources of information back then were state controlled radio and TV. I rushed to the radio and turned it on,only to find the usual programming.Frantic telephone calls were coming in from relatives all over the city.Bombs were exploding,missiles were falling,people were dying and getting maimed.You were lucky if you happened to be in a safe place.Many were not that lucky.Death and destruction rained from the skies.The carnage was random.I know of at least one victim of Ojri Camp,who took many years to die.Completely paralysed by his injuries,he was breathing but only just.I also read horrifying accounts of children who picked up the shells of unexploded ammunition,only to have it explode in their hands.The number of people killed and maimed was staggering.For many days afterwards,we could hear many more explosions as the unexploded munitions were destroyed.
In the aftermath,much was written and many conspiracy theories were broached.But the most pertinent quesion was,why was there an ammunition dump in the middle of a crowded city ? The tragedy of Ojri Camp demanded honest answers but none were forthcoming.
In the past few years,Pakistan has witnessed so many blood curdling terror attacks.But for me ,the horror of those few hours on April 10,1988 remains unforgettable.
Picture Courtesy: Daily Dawn

There's something about Paki men

2010-04-10T08:50:00.001+05:00

For last many days few people have totally hijecked the news, and intensity of this phinomina was a so strong that it made Speech of President a second news. yes i am talking about Shoaib Malik, Sania Mirza and Aysha Sidiqui. well ever since this fuss has been created i promissed my slef to not to write about it but today while killing my time i came accross to an article at The Times of India. Well i know that i am breaking my own promise but being a diplomatic and political person( thats what my few friends think about me) i wont write much so here is what article says:

There's something about Paki men

by: KALPANA SHARMA

There is something about Indian women and Pakistani men. With Indian tennis sensation Sania Mirza professing her love for Paki player Shoaib Malik, we try to figure out the real story...

Actor Reena Roy married cricketer Mohsin Khan; Zeenat Aman dated Imran Khan; Sushmita Sen, our Bollywood hottie, is attracted to Wasim Akram. Amidst all the controversies, media is rife with speculation about Sania Mirza, India’s tennis sensation, tying the knot with Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik. Well, one thing is common here – all these Indian women are terribly, terribly attracted to Pakistani men.

Many feel it’s the charm of men from Pakistan – the forbidden land. Psychologist Madhumati Singh explains, “We have always heard stories of flashy, handsome Italian men being much in demand, similarly there is a charm attached to these rugged Pakistani men. They are flamboyant, suave, know the language of love, Urdu very well and use it in even better and are often seen being chivalrous around women.” She goes on to add, “They are also closest to Indian men in temperament and looks which is why these women feel confident about their choice.”

If we see all the popular alliances, most of them have been with men associated to cricket. So can we attribute this fascination to the charm of the game? Agrees relationship counselor Mahesh Sinha, “In our country, cricket is as big as a religion. Or men are crazy about it and our women, well, some of them may not know the difference between silly point and mid-offs, but they love to see their man enjoy the Gentleman’s game. It gives them a high and a will to understand it to a point.” Also cricket is one of the most globally acknowledged games and all the cricketers enjoy international acclaim lending them that elusive ‘super hero’ status. Which woman worth her diamonds can resist such a tempting package? Adds Dr Singh, “The game has a lot of glamour. Especially in India, people worship cricket and this adds to its overall charm. It plays on the psyche of women.”

However, psychologist Seema Hingorani feels otherwise. “Paki men have an appealing personality. They are earthy, men of the soil and look it as well. With their rugged good looks, international style and sky high fame they are way too attractive to any Indian woman. Such attraction can prove to be quite fatal. But if you see the trend, all the Indian women who have chosen Paki men have not chosen anyone who can overpower their popularity. Reena Roy was more successful than Mohsin Khan, and if you see Sania shares a different status as compared to Shoaib who’s not really that famous. But if Sania marries Shoaib, she will become a Pakistani bahu and she right now doesn’t realize the implications of such a move, as she is too much in love at the moment.”

Whatever the case be, many feel that love knows no boundaries and it should be left at that!

(you can read the article on Times of India Web site here

Pakistan's First E-Village-- Mira Bagwal

2010-04-07T07:10:00.000+05:00

A remote village of Capital City Mira Bagwal has been converted into e-village, as it has been provided 2 MB Broad Band internet connection and its people have been given the facility of video conferencing to take advice from specialist doctors in case of any problem, a spokesman for the chief commissioner’s office said.

The formal inauguration of this e-village was held here on Sunday, which was attended by Inspector General of Police (Islamabad) Syed Kaleem Imam, Deputy Education Advisor, Ministry of Education Muhammad Ismail, Additional Director (r) FIA and Chief Coordinator Pakistan Social Association (PSA) Amar Jaffery, Uzma Umar, CEO Universal Services Fund Muhammad Iftikhar and other notables of the society.

IGP Islamabad appreciated the work done by various organisations for converting this remote village into e-village and said the local people especially young generation would get benefit from this facility to improve their knowledge and sharpen their skills. The dispensary, library already working in this village through coordination of PSA would be converted by Universal Services Fund into e-dispensary and e-library while various products prepared by the children would be presented for marketing also through internet.

Amar Jaffery said this project aims to benefit the local people and make the students computer literate. “This project will help in converting this far-flung village into a modern and well-informed village,” he maintained.

Universal Services Fund CEO Muhammad Iftikhar said that this village is the first village in the country converted into e-village while 300 more villages of the country would be provided internet facility on the same pattern.

Other participants also addressed on the occasion and hailed this initiative of various organisations to equip this village with modern technology. On the occasion, the IGP distributed the certificates among the students, who participated in the computer-training course arranged by PSA. He also announced to start free internship programme for the students of the area. Under this programme, the students would be invited to visit various wings of Islamabad police to learn about their functioning. Islamabad police would provide free transportation facility to such students, who want to visit its offices, the IGP said and appointed SP (City) Sajid Kiani, as the focal person to implement this programme.

Courtesy: The News

The Canal system of Pakistan.

2010-04-06T01:14:00.001+05:00

Farming and agriculture are said to be the oldest activities being performed by human on this earth and with the passage of time there have been some innovations and some new techniques to perform this activity. If we talk about Pakistan it has one of the most fertile soil in this world and all the credit goes to the presence of Indus valley in this region. Irrigation is just like the blood of agriculture and farming, there was a time when such activities used to be performed near rivers but as the time passed the land near river was no more available but the requirement of water was still there. As I said earlier there have been innovations in this field as well, the idea of irrigation with the man made resources emerged. Another reason for the emerging of this idea was to coup the problems in case of less rainfall.

The area where Pakistan is situated is blessed with some natural gifts and one of them is the irrigation system almost 75% of the land which is in agricultural use is covered by the irrigation system. Rivers have been the largest water source for many years, the rain fall has also been an important source and the third one is ground water.

The innovation of irrigation system is not as new as it sounds the legends of this system can be found in older days as well Persian wheel is an example that how people used to get water to the fields. Some other examples are Charsa, Shaduf and Karez. That’s what we find the things from the history and when we see what modern trend gave us in this regard we find perennial canals and tube wells.

The major source of water supply in Pakistan is Indus River along with its tributaries, and to utilize this source in better way Dams and Barrages have been established on them. Tarbela and Mangla are the larger dams and they generate hydro electricity as well as storing water and irrigating land, where as there are some small dams which only use as water reservoir and also supply water, some of the Small dams are Khanpur Dam, Rawal Dam and Hub Dam.

Dams are built on mountainous area where as Barrages based on flat surfaces. Barrages are also used in supply water for irrigation as well as for the other purposes e.g. home use. In Pakistan, Sukkur Barrage, Guddu Barrage, Kotri Barrage, and Chashma Barrage are some of the known barrages.

Canal is the thing which brings river water close to the field where it is required to be. These canals come out of rivers, dams, and barrages. The irrigation system of Pakistan is one of the best one in the world due to the largest irrigation system in the world.

The Inundation canal is an example that why this system is that good. These canals, like other canals, are taken from the rivers but the difference is that they get water when there is a rise in the water level due to flood. Therefore the extra water is used in some better way rather than letting it to spoil the things around. Inundation canal is something seasonal but there is requirement of eater throughout the year and the requirement is fulfill by perennial canals. Perennial canals are the canals that are used to supply water to the field and these are taken either from dams or barrages.

Currently there are 3 large dams and 85 small dams, along with these dams there are 19 barrages to fulfill the water need. From these dams and barrages 12 inter link canals, 45 canals have been taken to provide water to the fields. To utilize ground water 0.7 million tube wells have been installed. All the above mentioned resources are being used to cater the water need of the country. With the growing need of water these resources are not enough to meet the potential need. There is requirement of new dams and other factors to strengthen the irrigation system and to retain the title of the largest irrigation system in the world.

(the stats have been taken from Pakistan360degrees.contentcreatorz.com)

Two of my favorite Punjabi poetry pieces

2010-04-05T01:54:00.001+05:00

here are two of the very best punjabi poetry pieces i ever read one of them is with the translated version but after seein that the crisp which origional has was ruined in transaltion therefore decided not to translate the other one if there is some problem in understanding feel free to ask.

so here it goes.

او وقت بڑا اچھا سی

جدوں مے نکا بچہ سی.

گولیاں ٹافیاں کھاندا سی.

نیکر کچھے پاندا سی.

نہ لوکاں دی کوئی tension سی.

نہ ابے دی لگی pension سی.

نہ کڑ یاں د کوئی رولا سی.

عشق دا کم وی ہولا سی.

آلو چھولے کھا ندا سی.

Juampan shampan لاندا سی.

لوکاں دے بوہے پن دا سی.

سکون نال سو ندا سی.

ابے کولوں کٹ وی خندہ سی.

تے فیر وی حسدا رندہ سی.

او وقت وی بڑا اچھا سی .

جدوں میں نکا بچہ سی.

it says: that time was great when i was a little kid, i used to eat sweets and tofees and used to wear nickers and shorts, at that time i had no tensoon of people and my dad was also not on pension then, i did not bother girls than and something like love and flirt was out of question, i used to eat patato and chick pea chat and jump withjoy, used to knock people door to disturb them and sleep with great calm, used to be beaten by dad but still the smile was there on my face as that time was great when i was a small kid.

میں ادی راتی نہا بیٹھا

گل آپ سیاپا پا بیٹھا.

صابن مل ک پنڈے تے.

پانی د ا دونگا گوا بیٹھا.

میں آکھاں تے صابن مل کے.

بلدے بلب نو ہاتھ پا بیٹھا.

میں کھرے دے وچ انج ڈگا،

کہ متھے سٹ لوا بیٹھا.

ٹوٹی وجی منہ دے وچ.

ناسان وی پروا بیٹھا.

کی دساں میں نہا ندے نہا ندے،

چودہ ٹانکے لوا بیٹھا.

میں ادی راتی نہا بیٹھا

گل آپ سیاپا پا بیٹھا.

In The Search of Snow--9... Last evening in Swat Valley.

2010-04-03T02:59:00.001+05:00

Finally the beauty of weather showed its color and it started to rain, Sheri and I get into the jeep as we were hanging out till that time. Sheri was 1^st year student and was a nice guy, he was another friend I made during the trip. I sit beside Azeem and Sheri, to his hard luck, was sitting with Bilal. To create fun Bilal started to behave as if he is gay and trying to hit on Sheri, Sheri took thought that Bilal is a gay indeed when we (Azeem and I) gent into the situation as we were Bilal’s roommate so our statement must have a strong verdict.

At last we reached the hotel again and after paying the charges of jeep Bilal clarified that it was all joke and don’t be serious about it and asked Sheri not to take it seriously. As soon as Sheri said “it’s ok” bilal said; “ACHA PHIR PAPI DE DAY” (ok than give me a kiss) and we all started to LOL.

There was same Mash ki Dal in the lunch a few days back it used to be my favorite pulse but now I was totally fed up of it. We also planned about night as it was our last night in Bahrain, we decided to have Karhahi in dinner from Sangam Hotel and after that we will do some shopping. In the evening, after relaxing for a while we were getting ready to leave and roam about in the bazaar, Rashid came to our room by accident, Rashid used to be My Class Fellow and he is son of (now ex-) Lady Councilor of Ichra, Lahore.

Rashid has no idea about our room; we started to chat about different issues. Rashid told us about the boy of drowned in Swat River the same afternoon. I asked him that how was his day, he said all thanks to Faizan the day was totally wasted as he told all of them that road to Malam Jaba is closed so they all remain up late in night and woke up at 4pm and had “breakfast” at Iqbal hotel, that’s it.

Soon Rashid took our leave and we left the room to have dinner. One thing I realized that the taste of karhahi was not as good as it was at the time we had it before and they also charged us more this time. After the bad experience of dinner we roamed about in the bazaar and did some shopping too. While we were coming back to the hotel we got to know that Sheri and rest of the group is gathered at Fish Center to have dinner, we reached the place and started to rock the place but being good guys we left the place before the food was served there.

It was time to clear the accounts of the day, so it was time for my duty as I was the official accountant of our group. I also packed my bag as I knew that in the morning I might not get chance to do it. While coming back to the room we also bought a bottle of MARINDA APPLE as we were supposed to go to the roam of Sheri and other group fellows to have some fun and play cards. Before we could leave for the expedition, Sadaqat came to our room and asked about our plans for the next day. “Nothing special, we will go to search CHASMA E SHIFA and do some Shopping that’s it” was the reply from our side. (continue...)
(if you want to read the older parts than click here)

It is personal…

2010-03-26T10:44:00.000+05:00

It has always believed that the biggest problem with the government we have in all those years since 1960 have been the confusion in and by the person in power i.e. every dictator wanted and even tried to be democrat and a publically elected and chosen one turned into dictator. There is a saying that the old habits die hard exactly the same thing I experienced last evening. While the whole day it was a part of discussion that by the end of the day 17^th amendment might be the part of history, new name of NWFP might have been decided and many other so called issues will be resolved.. I used the word so called because such issues are the interests of the people in power but to a common man he has nothing to do with all this he is just asking for basic necessities.

Mr. Nawaz Shareef held a press conference and did everything to make the potential 18^th amendment turn into ashes, why is he doing so? From the day one he is asking for the 18^th amendment and the end of 17^th one. To me his politics is all personal many months back there was a plan being followed to become president, in the camp of this N league. Now when there is nothing about the clause to become the prime minister for the 3^rd time, Mr. Nawaz Shareef has declared it unacceptable.

To me Nawaz Shareef is a strange character he looks like Butt Saab type of people who have nothing to do but to eat and talk about silly stuff, however when ever NS been in power he acted like Mola Jutt been hand in hand with Army, Judiciary, Media and many other fights in different arenas. To best of my knowledge these all rivalries were the result of a sense of being a dictator. All the things been said yesterday are proving that these people have nothing to do with the feelings and demands of a common man to such people politics is all about “Its Personal” matter.

The biggest achievement in the score-card of NS in recent past is the restoration of judiciary, which was a demand of the nation at that time and the whole thing was used to get more score and followership. Nevertheless let me go to the time when there was confusion on the topic that PML-N will support long march or not and I think many of you still remember the statement of NS in which he was annoyed on the declaration of long march day without taking his opinion on it. He is not a lawyer he was just using the whole campaign for his own purpose. Let me give another example in connection to the same factor. NS decided to support the lawyers’ movement openly and declared that he will lead the long march, and this declaration was made right after becoming unworthy as per court decision.

There are so many examples of his past proving that how much personally he takes the issue and put the expectations of mango (common) people in a corner. Once I was talking to a person from N league, and he told me that there are two groups in N league one is pro Shabaz and other is Pro Nawaz all those who are experts or even learners of the art of flattering belong to Nawaz camp. But I have observed, might be there are two groups, there is another group which can be called Ch. Nisar group. Yes the leader of the opposition, one of those people in N League who was very happy on court’s decision which declared Shareef Brothers unworthy.

And last evening what I can observed that the former two time PM of Pakistan was looking like the puppet of Ch. Nisar camp, and whole press conference says that the only eagerness he has is to get into power and on other issues like empowering the parliament, provincial independence and the demand of decades; change the name of NWFP, he has nothing to do with. That’s why I believe that one of the biggest blunders he made in his life the press conference was one of them. No doubt it was personal not national.

zSHARE video - ns fk.flv

Picture Courtesy: Dawn

is that what is called Takmeel????

2010-03-24T13:20:00.000+05:00

Yesterday on 23^rd of March, even after assuring myself I could not write any blog post and I know that how much regret I am going to face in coming days for this dynamic, the whole day was a busy one and after a long time I utilized my day off in a full sense. I don’t want to spell out the whole day long story so let me come to the main reason of this blog post. There was an event taking place in Alhamra Open Hall Theater near Qaddafi Stadium, Lahore—TAKMEEL E PAKISATN, was the title of the event.

At first this event was going to be held at MINAR-E-PAKISTAN and according to the organizing team it was the other part of the resolution which was passed 70 years back on the same date, that’s why it was named as Takmeel (task to complete). I got chance to be there because at first I had no plan to be there due to some reason and changing the venue one day before was somewhat alarming for me.

The reason for changing the venue was the anti ZAID HAMID rallies that was gathering at Minar e Pakistan at the same time when this event was planned. I volunteer myself for the vents just to see the “back Stage” happenings, and to my luck I was appointed as a member VIP escort team, it was obvious that I got chance to meet some people from Brasstacks, and of course I met Zaid Hamid too. I must say, despite the issues I have with him, he was very kind when I met him and quite different than the ZH we see on TV or behind the dice.

The event could not be started the way it was planned, or I should better say that the event ended before it could start. There was a stampede and the points of resolution were read by Zaid Hamid in a great hurry. The NOC for the event was canceled by the authorities as the Anti group started to gather at the place and it could have been a serious security issue. I could only understand only two points of the resolution as I was on my toes at that time (share them soon as i get the email). All of us were asked to quit the place and every big one left the place.

So that’s what takmeel is all about, the only wise decision at that time was to leave the place and it was taken by Zaid Hamid himself (apparently to secure all the people present there), because there was a news that this event is possible and it can be completed if it is minus Zaid Hamid. the result of the event is still confusing for me as according to few people the cancelation of event is a slap on ZH and whole the movement and according to few the resolution is passed and that was the main reason for us all to gather there( in a nut shell it was a successful event).

Why we all love to be controvercial or why all the controversies peep out there heads at the time when someone become famous that is something I am unable to understand for a while. I said many times in recent past that I am no more a big fan of Zaid Hamid and I maintain this line but I believe as far as he is a Pro-Pakistan and Peo-Islam in a true sense then I am with him or any other person who have these few qualities. Still I think than why to be controversial??? To me takmeel event was a flop and I mean it, see if you are on a right way than you must make people to be with you rather than making every one an enemy is not a good policy as per me, because I think the formula to be in the shit-list of people just to prove that you are doing something worthwhile is acceptable in every case.

If it was about Pakistan than why only youth is required on such events why don’t people from every age and class can take part in takmeel??? I believe it’s time that the positions of many must be cleared and I think many of you understand about whom I am talking.

Are you Satisfied or Confused????

2010-03-16T11:00:00.001+05:00

It was Sunday last year and date was 15^th March a strange day in our history. At one end Besant was being celebrated and on the other hand Long March to restore the judiciary was on. I have been in favor of free judiciary since I came across to the Quote of Hazrat Ali R.A; “the government of Kufr (infidelity) can survive but the government of cruelty can never remain in power”. I believe if there is no justice in the society and the country it means that there is the government of cruelty is going on.

2007 proved to be a year which resulted many changes, Prvaiz Musharaf who was the center of all the powers in the Pakistan, started making mistakes one after the other and his rivalry with the black coats was the first blunder he made. I do not think that I have to write about it anymore as it’s known to everyone here that what happened after it, each day it was a new turn. Implementation of emergency (which I call a mini martial law), king’s party was defeated in the elections and now the party of Martyr of Democracy was in power.

When all the things were showing green flag, still it took more than one year to the judiciary is restarted by the Peoples Government. I admire the movement of black coats as to me it’s been the longest running campaign ever which gave a good result, a common man and people from civil society supported them a lot and how can I forget the support they got online through social media and Blogosphere of Pakistan.

Let me come to the Long March day, I have no interest in Besant and all that and I wanted to be the part of the moment which was being written in the chapters of this history. But I was not allowed to go there where the long march was on, I was forced to play cricket the time when the caravan was passing by the road which is near my house. I had all the good feelings and best wishes for the people who were on the mission, as I thought that I will bring some good for the mango men like me (aam admi).

At night when I was at home and watching the live coverage of the long march on TV and enjoying the text messages of my friends, actually one of my friends wished in his text message that army should take over—this one was a laughing stock for me. Every TV channel was giving some new news and every TV anchor was asking people to not to sleep as some good news is in pipe line. I don’t remember all the anchors whom I watched on TV, but I can remember Aaa Aaaa fame Kamran Khan who was asking people to not to sleep as watch man calls “ Jagty Rehna” (Stay awake), and the other one I still remember is Asma Chaudhri, many of you will amaze that what so special about her but she was looking really good in black dress with red embroidery.

I was not a serious blogger in those days so the only good habit I had than was to sleep in time as the university was the beigest responsibility on me, being a student. In the morning when I was getting ready for University the first thing I heard on TV was the words of Kamran Khan saying “Hum ne Kaha than a k mat soiye ap ko maza aa jay ga, dekh lijiye hum ne durust kaha tha PM ne Adlia Bahal karnay ka elan kar dia hay” (we told you not to sleep as you will have fun and see we were right as PM has announced to restore the judiciary)—my memory might be deceiving me so if any word in above statement is wrong pardon me for it but I can assure that it was all as per the best I could remember.

I think I should get little serious now as a lot of fun has been made throughout the post. It’s been a year today that the judiciary been restored, but do you all think we have achieved what we dreamed for, other than NRO there has been no big case been resolved so far. Missing Persons case which was one of the claim to fame for CJ Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhri, is still in the air and there is no head of the thread so far. Some say that the judiciary has become a party now to some extent they may be right but on the next moment I think this might be the reaction as we are not used to free judiciary.

I don’t think that I am an expert on this but I have a question that are you satisfied with the one year performance of free judiciary???? Well if I was asked the same question my reply would have been that I am confused…

Problem is Input or Outcome?

2010-03-14T11:52:00.001+05:00

Since last Monday one piece of news has been my center of focus, the news might not be as big as it could have make a headline in main stream media but it captured my mind and heart for so many days. The news was a about a kid from Karachi, Arbaz. Arbaz lost his eye due to the torture he faced in seminary as a punishment of having a casual leave.

In the word of Arbaz:

I went to my elder sister house on Saturday and teacher asked me to be in Cock Stance (MURGHA, a famous punishment in Pakistan) and slapped my face hard as my eye started to bleed”

I have been seminaries and having some religious views I believe that these seminaries are best NGOs but only if they practice their operations in a better way. As I said that I have been in seminaries and I must say I had one of the best time of my life there because of the teachers I had there that might be the reason that I still respect my USTAD JI.

Keeping my emotions towards the seminaries (Madrassa) aside I admit that there are such problem figures which make Human Rights Commission of Pakistan to report in following words:

There are 5,500 deeni madaris in Pakistan. These institutions

are not concerned with imparting a well rounded education to the

children. Instead, they are missionaries in the narrow sense of the

term. "They aim to pass on their corpus of sectarian beliefs and to

raise a new generation hardened and militant in its devotion to those

beliefs", according to the State of Human Rights in 1997

I don’t want to go to the aspect s which is connected to the Afghan Jihad and all that because that is something linked to the Madrisa culture however there are many other factors which put Madaris on this track.

We always condemn the Taliban and extremist views of such people who are product of Religious School. Mark my word Product, because have we ever noticed that what have been the input of such Schools?

Those who cannot bear the educational expenses put their children in such schools, those kids who are expected to be dumb and dull in normal studies became input of this situation (totally opposite to the practice of Jews where the best mind is put into religious studies), and one more thing physically handicapped and mentally abnormal (to some extent) are also the input in such schools.

As you sow so shall you reap; that’s what I learned back in school and it’s simple to understand. Till the time the input is imperfect we are forced to make hue and cry over, by our own self, on the outcome. While I was looking for some information of such cases I came across to many such cases where children are tortured like slaves, how can I miss the special and ever famous punishment of putting student in chain which is in practice at the seminaries of Southern Punjab. Do you think that after going through such circumstances an innocent brain can remain innocent and peaceful? No doubt the teachers who practice such activates do so only because they have gone through the same process, and to them it is either the best way to teach their pupil or in this way they are taking revenge of the hash things happened to them in their student era.

I am not pin pointing all the Seminaries in Pakistan because I have personally visited many seminaries where the atmosphere is really peaceful and teachers are so kind and yes the real factor of INPUT is also something which makes the difference there. As I said in the beginning of this post, “these DEENI MADRISAs are the best NGOs only if they practice their operations in a proper way”.

Islam mean peace and I really believe in it but there is something which is creating an impact which is causing all the wrong image to be seen everywhere, and we have to deal with it until and unless we do not tend to make change to the factors causing problem for each and every one of us in one way or the other. Islam and religious affairs can’t be taught be brutalizing the pupil by horrifying them with the shine of punishment, because in this way we are not molding a brain we are actually creating a human which will either take revenge of the hardships he beard or will run away from the real soul of Islam.

I don’t have anything more to say but I really want WIFAQ ul MADARIS (federation of seminaries in Pakistan) to look into the meter and ruit out the problem factors in the structure. I also think that there is no harm in having sessions of such teachers with psycatriests that might bring some good results.

Now come to the reason that made me to write this post. Arbaz who lost his eye might never be able to see the world he used to see before, and he has a question and whole life he might remain in search of the answer and the question is “was the sin did me as big as bigger cost I paid???”

Picture Courtesy: washingtonpost.com

End of Players' Power???

2010-03-10T14:29:00.004+05:00

For last an hour I am watching TV not for the reason of by-election which is taking place in NA123 which is not far away from my place. The reason behind this activity is the news which created a Bang in the cricket sky of Pakistan. A few days back it was suggested to punish certain players on the basses of there activates inside and outside the cricket ground, I had no idea that the implementation on this news will happen like this and so early.

Former Captain and one of my favorite players Yunis Khan have been banned for whole life and Muhammad Yusuf is the other one who will enjoy the same punishment for whole life. Both these men are getting the result of the personal clash they were cherishing for last one year almost. Ever since Pakistan won T20 world cup time never been the same for Younis and after going through a bad patch and leaving the captaincy his chances to be in team were very less. M. Yusuf is one of those players whom I never been fan of and one of the reason is his expertise in creating groups and keeping everyone on his toes ever since he became vice captain of the team.

Other than these two Shoaib Malik and Rana Naveed got a Ban for whole year also fined 2 million Rupees. This has put career of Rana to an end and as far as Shoaib is concerned he will make a comeback. To me Shoib Malik should also be banned for life because he was the one who started playing political game in and outside ground by keeping senior players out of the team and flexing his captaincy muscles.

The Akmal Brothers have also been fined Kamran has to pay a fine of 3 million and Umer will have to pay 2 million as fine and both the brothers are also under the probation for six months. Afridi, the potential Captain (at least my vote is with him), was fined 3 million rupees for ball tampering during the one-day series against Australia.

To me it’s a great decision and that might put the players power to an end players power has been one of the reason of group establishment and personal clashes among the players and in the end team has to suffer the result caused by the act of these dummy gods. At one time I thought that it is too much to ban for whole life and reason was the ban on YK as I said many times before that he is one of my favorite players ever, but now I think that the decision is good because I don’t want to see my favorite cricket team face more bad results just because of one favorite player of mine.

I believe that punishment is one of the best solutions to create discipline and sudden peace in the environment in past PCB kneeled time and again to the player’s power, but this time this is a bold step taken by the authority and let’s see what outcome it brings out. As Abdul Qadir said “it’s a brave and wise decision; however PCB must stand by it and make sure not to change it in future.”

In the Quest of Childhood Memories

2010-03-09T18:21:00.000+05:00

The previous post of mine says that how I spent the day of 12 Rabi ul Awal (EID MILAD UN NABI), half of the awake time I spent in roaming in the city and other half was spent in office and on Sunday it was a double job first there was a test to take and then office again. In those two days I was not able to visit the areas where I somehow visit on these two dates of Islamic calendar. And the main reason for me to go out is to see the decoration and the celebration of the birthday of the greatest Man in the history of this universe.

On Monday March 6 2010 I had a shift which ended at 6 pm so I decided to visit Sadder Bazaar Lahore. However before going there I asked my colleague, Usman Saeed, who lives in saddar, as If bazaar is being decorated, To make sure my plan. Well on every 14th of Rabi ul Awal this bazaar is decorated in the celebrations of Eid Milad u Nabi (S.A.W).

It's been long back, perhaps 2000, that I visited this very place on 14th of Rabi ul Awal. The memories of that visit were the real factor which dragged me to that place. I reached there after Maghreb prayer what I realized that I have reached their bit early as the process of decoration was still on. The lightening was on its peak, many stages were settled, and the high sound speakers were spreading the voice of Naat (poetry in which Prophet Muhamad S.A.W. is praised) in the air. There were few things which got my attention and my camera saved them for me and my memory.

I saw many mud made models while I was passing thorough a street. These models are called “PAHARHIAN” in Urdu and Punjabi the meaning of Pahari is MOUNTAIN. These mud made models have a big attraction for me since my childhood-I also made them in 2001, and it was a good experience to make them and decorate it with color coated wood powder and toys. The best part of this model is the water factor, a pond or a fountain is an integral part of the Paharhi. The digging process for the pond is done with a great efficiency as there is a system of drain is also made so that water does not get overflowed and spoil the whole model. I and my memories, I think the love and fascination I have, about these models can make me to write so long that this post might not end, so let's keep this Pahari post for some other time and resume to Sadder Bazaar.

After roaming different parts and streets of the bazaar I was coming back home, I also met one of my colleague there, not the one who confirmed me about the decoration, and he said that he used to study in an academy over here and since than he visit this place every year. Well the memories I have with the date and the place were really rich this time there was more of an artificial thing that could not touch my heart as it did before. Though I forget all the stress that I was carrying after a hectic shift and I was feeling good after visiting the sadder bazaar.

I also floated a tweet when I was backing home:

i must say, Sadar Bazar on 14th Rabi ul Awal is one of the #AwesomePakistaniThings via @rai_azlan http://bit.ly/aVLuHY

I know I am bit confused with this as at one end I say that I had good time there but on the other end I say that it was bit artificial one. The real sense of celebrating this day was missing somewhere, and here I am not pointing the feelings of those people who did all the effort whole heartily and believe me I respect the feelings of those people. I am talking about those who spoiled the whole soul of the event. I came to know that there in a street the path was blocked and on a stage dance was going on. Oh God! Where are we heading to, I am not a hypocrite I listen to music and I enjoy it but yes I believe that respect is something which is bigger than the things you enjoy. The news of dancing and all that was the one which shattered my views. On the day when about 1483 years back idols were bent in gratitude the fire in the Persia which used to be worshiped was cold-down and many miracles took place just in respect of the arrival of the Greatest ONE. Than how can we who claimed to be his followers and proudly call ourselves Muslims can do such stupid thing on such day.

I always say that timing is the thing which defines who you are and a foolish one always do a wrong thing at a right time. I maintain that Sadder bazaar on 14 Rabiulawal is an #AwesomePakistaniThing but the factor of respect and honor and the real soul of the event must stay alive, because I do not want to see the words of my colleague to become true “Rai, you are talking about the artificial thing believe me in coming year this artificial thing will also vanish and then you have to bear the thing which panic you today”. The issue is with the priority and I think that next year the organizers of the event try to maintain the real soul of the event so the so called “conservative Liberals” like me enjoy the event and cherish the memories of childhood and get pleasure from the celebrations.

Indo-Pak Water Issues 101 – Tariq Tufail (wake up before its too late)

2010-03-05T22:47:00.003+05:00

{its another post under the head of wake up before its too late, a series dedicated to the water issue. AZLAN}

Cartoon from Jang

Last week, the foreign secretaries of India and Pakistan met in New Delhi to end a “diplomatic freeze” between the two countries since the 2008 Mumbai attacks. According to Reuters’ Myra MacDonald, they did “what they were expected to do — laid out all the issues which divide the two countries and agreed to ‘keep in touch.’” However, the issue of water-sharing has been cause for contention between India and Pakistan over the years [it is also an internal issue in Pakistan among the provinces]. Below, Tariq Tufail, from Karachi, delves into the issues that stem from the 1960 Indus Water Treaty:

The Pakistan-India foreign secretary-level talks took place as scheduled. But curiously, apart from the usual rhetoric of “terrorism” from the Indian side and “Kashmir” from the Pakistani side in the run-up to the talks, water became the more prominent issue.

Though the water issue has been raised in the past, and is one of the sustaining factors behind Pakistan’s continued interest in Kashmir, the articulation of water as a core India-Pakistan dispute in such a distinct and clear manner is unprecedented. Within the space of two weeks, water was mentioned as one of the principal disputes between India and Pakistan by our Prime Minister, our foreign minister, our Chief of Army Staff (COAS) and curiously, even Hafeez Sayeed of LeT/JuD. In order to understand the issue better, it is important to first provide a background of the Indus Water Treaty (IWT).

The Indus Water Treaty

Broadly speaking, the IWT grants exclusive use of the three eastern tributaries of the Indus River – the Sutlej, Ravi and Beas Rivers - to India and the three western tributaries – Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab Rivers to Pakistan. India is entitled to use all of the 33 million acre feet (MAF) of water from the eastern tributaries, of which it currently uses 30 MAF. Of the three western tributaries, the Jhelum, Chenab and Indus itself, which carries a flow of 143 MAF, India is entitled to store 3.6 MAF and is allowed to irrigate 13,43,477 acres of land. India does not store any water as of now and irrigates 7,92,426 acres. In addition, India is entitled to build “run of the river” hydroelectric projects, which do not store water on the western tributaries. The rise in the country’s usage of the water allocated to India (which used to flow to Pakistan earlier) is stressing the water availability in Pakistan. In addition, reduced snowfall and shifting weather patterns is reducing the water inflow.

Cutting through the usual rhetoric of India “stealing” water, several possibilities have to be analyzed:

Pakistan is heightening the water issue to moderate the Indian negotiating tactic of focusing on terrorism
India is really stealing water and violating the treaty
India is not violating the “letter” of the treaty but the “spirit” of the treaty
India is neither violating the letter or the spirit of the treaty, but due to increased water requirements, Pakistan is laying the ground to re-negotiate the Indus Water Treaty

It will be fruitless to speculate on (1), so let us concentrate on (2), (3) and (4).

At this point in time, the Pakistani government has not proven that India has stolen water. The allegation of Indian water theft has not been substantiated by either telemetry readings submitted by India or by water monitoring by Pakistan and has not been raised during the meetings of water commissioners of India and Pakistan. Moreover, because water sharing between Pakistan’s provinces is a contentious issue, water monitoring in Pakistan is a murky issue. To prevent discord among the provinces, monitoring sensors installed by Siemens are frequently tampered with and some monitoring sensors are regularly lost due to theft and sabotage. Even our Indus water commissioner Jamaat Ali Shah and ex-finance minister, Dr. Mubashar Hasan agree that no provable water theft is being committed by India.

Therefore, the inescapable conclusion is that India is not violating the “letter” of the treaty, even if it may be maximizing its usage as accorded to India by the treaty. This is not enforceable in any court of law, and whipping up domestic sentiments over such perceived “violations” reduces our policy options and creates disastrous consequences as the Baglihar episode showed, (for background on the Baglihar dam conflict, see this piece).

So what are the disadvantages of the massive construction spree by India?

The national security elements in Pakistan are concerned that even as India is not reducing the flow of water to Pakistan, it is rapidly acquiring the capability to do so by building dams. This is certainly an area of concern, but the IWT does not prevent India from being able to stop water flow into Pakistan at a future date. It only prevents India from stopping water flow. A positive aspect is that the IWT has stood the test of time, with no violations reported during the 1965, 1971, 1989, Kargil, Parakram and Mumbai standoffs.
Increasing India’s usage of the Indus is affecting Pakistan’s water supply and power projects. That is, the water that was allocated to India, which was previously un-utilized and subsequently flowed to Pakistan and was utilized by our farmers, is becoming increasingly scarce as India builds projects to exploit its share. Even though it causes massive problems in Pakistan, this point cannot be protested, since India is not in violation of the IWT. (For example, complaints about the Sutlej and the Ravi running dry are superfluous since India has exclusive rights to use the water of those rivers.)

So what can be done?

As pointed out beautifully by lawyer Ahmer Bilal Soofi, India cannot be compelled to give “concessions” to Pakistan as long as it complies with the letter of the IWT. Furthermore, any extraneous discussions about water sharing can be stymied by India, since water sharing according to the Indian stance is already settled by IWT. From their perspective, as long as India is not in violation of the treaty, there is nothing to discuss.

Of the remaining courses of action open to Pakistan, re-negotiation of the IWT has a very small chance of success (since both sides will try to get better terms than the current treaty even if India agrees to renegotiate). The right course of action is to massively modernize our irrigation infrastructure (it is estimated that up to 40% of water drawn from our head-works are lost due to seepage in unlined canals, theft and evaporation), stringently follow the inter-provincial water sharing accord of 1991, and gain the trust of the provinces so that new water projects such as Kalabagh can proceed without their objection while seeking unofficial concessions from India to tide over the interim 5-10 year period. However, seeking unofficial concessions might be a hard task, since it has to overcome the prevailing climate of suspicion between the two neighbors, as well as India’s own domestic interests like its own water requirements as well as the impact on public opinion and Indian farmers.

At the end of the day, the wrong course of action would be to stir public sentiment through half truths and lies and to involve non-state and Jihadi actors, which reduces the space for policy flexibility in Pakistan, and further hardens the Indian position.

this post was actually posted at CHUP! – Changing Up Pakistan.

Joanna-- A Friend of Pakistan

2010-03-05T02:55:00.001+05:00

Friends of Pakistan was an idea or something to get support or I should better say AID was the main reason behind this. Till now I am not able to understand what good have we achieved from these so called friends of Pakistan. The eye of whole world towards our land is covered with the glasses which only show negative aspects of this land. I just want to know that is there any nation which is 100% perfect, I know the answer will be no but the one who will answer it will ask me what this question has to do with a failed state like Pakistan. First I do not think and I will never accept that Pakistan is a failed state because the time we are going through may be like a dark tunnel but an almost visionless person like me can see the light at the end of this tunnel and with the passage of every single day, this end, which is full of light, is coming nearer and nearer.
Last year, and I mean 2009 have been a great year of my life, I completed my graduation, I got some fame(still it was not much) in my college, became an integral part of the commerce club that we made in university, and one of the biggest reason was to start this blog MY LAND PAKISTAN, I still remember the time when I started it and the story behind this fact has been kept aside and will put it here one the first HAPPY BIRTHDAY of this blog (its coming soon so don't worry).
Another reason which I want to share is the fact that I became active on social media after this blog came into being. It was the time when people were shifting to twitter from face book, but I was active on facebook after I have some good experience of twitter. While I was doing my internship in a bank last year, I became an active blogger due to the support I got from the people there. It was the time when I came across to many pictures of with green background on twitter and same thing I noticed on face book too. I was not able to understand what this was about, I greened my picture myself and put it on fb, I greened it just to celebrate Independence Day but I was not able to change it for months.
This green background became a reason for me to meet many people, if I start to make I list than I don't think I will be able to complete this blog pot tonight. Latter on I came to know about this go green campaign and since than this freelance warrior is a part of go green brigade. One complain, I have with the man who green so many pictures for the people, never greened my picture. Yeah its true that still I myself green my picture, not only mine picture of Rai Suffian AKA Lala (my younger brother), and the pic of Baba Jani was greened by me and the fact is alive that I am not good with photoshop.
Last month Joanna Vroom came to Pakistan, it was her first trip to Pakistan ever. And she was here just to meet us, we the people from green brigade. One of my friend says that its really impressive to see a lady visiting this country in this age and during those days when the situation of law and order is really unpredictable. I got, chance to meet her when PYR arranged a dinner for her, unfortunately I missed the dinner due to my shift but I managed to reach there to meet all the people gathered there under the banner of PYR.
It was last Saturday (it was the birthday of the greatest Man in this History of this universe, Prophet MUHAMMAD S.A.W) due to a holiday it was decided to have a full day with Joanna and the journey started with the breakfast at Royal Park, for me this journey started quite early as I reached the point where we were supposed to meet before any one else I did my break fast at that time by having oranges from a fruit vender. Parking my bike and, than getting it back is a different story but for those who love to make fun of my silly habits I submitted Xerox of my CNIC at the parking stand as I lost the parking token.
The break fast was really good and the thing which really matter is that the person for whom this Royal

breakfast was arranged actually enjoyed it. The next destination was Fountain House, and we were here to distribute Daig that we were giving in the celebrations of Eid Milad UN Nabi. .
Trip to Shahi Qila (Lahore Fort) was the title of this whole trip so from Fountain house this team, by the way there were people like Farhan bhai, Ali Awais, Soban Akram, Syed Hassan Tallal, Amna Usmani and Imran Bokhari ( I hope I am not missing any name other than mine in this list) in this team to take Joanna to Lahore fort. I was supposed to reach there on my bike so as always I lost the way some how reached there and till now those who were already there were waiting for me. We could not t stay there for long as it was getting really hot due to a real golden sunshine.
I had to leave for the office as I was having a shift, but rest of the team marched to the house of Farhan Bhai, and I rally want to apologies to Farhan Bhai for leaving like that when I was expected to be there with the whole group, and I hope he can understand my problem. There was a Tweet-up arranged by Rohan David Emanuel and Iftikhar Hussein, I missed that one too due to my shift but from the glimpse of the pictures I saw of that event I can see that every one had a great time there and believe me I really feel bad for missing it.
During this whole time I got chance to chat with Joanna for a while and what I could figure out is that she was really happy being here and she really found us as she was expecting and in answer to one of my question she said:

Its not strange to be in a strange place where no one is stranger actually, this journey form UK to Karachi and than Lahore and than back is might be tiring but the excitement of meeting new people and having great time give me energy.

By the time I am writing this post, Joanna is back in UK and I hope that she had a safe journey and must be doing really well. I just want to say that it was really nice to have you here and as I promised that I will see you there (and figures are crossed for it) I will definitely complete my promise. I started this post with some criticism on friends of Democratic republic of Pakistan, and reason behind doing that is the behavior of those FOP. To me people like Joanna are the real friends of Pakistan who actually took, risk to be here just to meet us and to prove that, this is not as harmful place as it has been projected by the whole world. And I must say on behalf of Pakistan (I think I am authorized to do so being a common man of this land), that Pakistan is proud to have friends like you Joanna…

Zaid Hamid Admits His Links To Yousuf Kazzab - Videos out now

2010-03-04T11:34:00.004+05:00

got this video from the page of Ghazawa e Hind on FaceBook. Well my quest for the real truth is still on, and these videos are some of the findings i have made so far. I don't have to say much but i must say that one must watch the video to decide. To me it is really a sensitive issue and it has been the reason that I have become more and more critical about Mr. Zaid Hamid. Well i don't have to say any thing else watch the videos and make a comment.
and by the way here is the description of these videos as per Ghazwa e Hind fan page:

Zaid hamid explains his view on yusuf kazzab and tries to prove that yusuf kazzab was not a liar.. watever the case. these videos prove in his own words, his link with yusuf kazzab which he has never declared to this day in public.. surprisingly he also points a technical mistake in questions posed to him..
"I know yusuf ali but not yusuf kazzab coz he is not a kazzab"..
May Allah guide us all..
There is no doubt that khilafah is an obligation but this man is not to be trusted in fulfilling this obligation..
"and khilafah will only be re-established on the method of prophethood" -(hadith)
May Allah give victory to the muslim ummah and save us from all deceptions and fitnas..

here is the list of Ulmas and people whom Zaid Hamid is calling FASIDDS, decide for yourself (courtesy I.T Mazdoor)

My Love with Hockey is Emotional #PkHockey

2010-03-03T14:30:00.001+05:00

I have always been asked about the reason of fact behind my name. Some of the people who are familiar with the source tried to tease me with referring me to that. I never bothered for it as I am in love with my name as so far I have found a very few people with this name here in Pakistan and it’s really good to have a different name. Well that true that my name is inspired by AZLAN SHAH the emperor of Malaysia. The story behind my name goes like (according to some sources), it was decided that my name is going to be MUHAMMAD AZLAN while my whole family was busy in watching final of AZLAN SHAH hockey tournament, I was only a week or 10 days old, and my eldest Chachu was the one who gave me this name.

Another question which I come across in my life is, “what does AZLAN mean”. Let me confess that for last few years I am not answering this question in a proper sense by saying it means “brave”, it actually means leopard or Lion.

As I already said that I am in love with my name that is perhaps a reason that I have an emotional bond with hockey- - field hockey the national game of My Land Pakistan. I still remember the moment when goal keeper Mansoor saved the decisive penalty stroke to make Pakistan win the hockey world cup 1994. That was a moment of history when Pakistan become a record 4^th time champion of the game.

I still remember the Olympics of 1996 when we couldn’t make much, I can never forget the world cup of 1998 we lost it so do I, yes I lost that year because my exams were also on in those days while the world cup was going on, the tension and sadness of the game effected my performance (though there were many factors other than just the game behind my performance) my worst score in final exams ever in my school days was in 1998.

With the passage of time the love with a team in green shirts playing hokey alive, only few people know that I actually cried when we lost in recent past. The day when Sohail Abbas made a comeback was one of the happiest days for me. Today when one of the best names in the world of hockey team Pakistan is going through tough days, I feel like it’s my responsibility to support my love to get back whatever it has lost.

Today team Pakistan is in India to take part in the Hockey World Cup 2010, there was a great hue and cry for not taking part in this tournament; but I think there is no good for leaving a chance to go. My support is with the men in Green and I hope that we prove that we are the real champs of the game. The win or lose is the part of the game and it all meters only in the end, but the thing really matter is how they play and how much support we give to them. As my friend Abid Beli says;

its our duty to promote every thing about Pakistan. we all need to own our country and country assets.

Let me confess one more thing that; I was on duty when I got to know the score of Pak VS Ind match and literally I was unable to take calls after it. Our players were in pressure and seemed to be under some serious stress, team India took full advantage of playing on home ground. That is past now today I am happy that team Pakistan is back in the game now by beating Spain. I heartily congratulate to team Pakistan and I am thankful to Abdul Haseem Khan who scored the goal in dying moments of the game to make us victorious at that time, and yeah he was also declared as Man of the Match.

Last night when I was on My Land Pakistan I updated the news of Pakistan’s victory and out of nowhere the hash tag #PkHockey was dropped there by me. I am not in lust of taking any credit but so far I was the first one who used this hash tag. Till now it has become a way of supporting team Pakistan who is on a mission to bring the gold back home. I really want to thank Abid Beli. Abid Bhai was the man who gave strength to this has tag and brought many people on twitter to use it with their tweets, so that we can show our support to put hockey team.

Anyone can share news, pictures, videos and anything related to team Pakistan with this hash tag to show the support. No doubt Cricket is not the only game we are good at, and honestly I never expected team Pakistan to win T20 World cup but still I was a soldier of #PkCricket brigade to show my support. It’s time to support team of our national game, join hands to increase their spirit, who knows our support do the miracle again.

One more thing that might be bit childish but I Heart #PkHockey.

Why Finance Minister Resigned?

2010-02-25T22:02:00.002+05:00

Why Finance Minister Resigned?

By.
Muhammad Ayyaz

I think one of the most possible reason must be that he is still facing lack of political support for his game plan to boost up Pakistan's economy. Because he had a quite predictable approach.He knew that Government has non serious attitude towards the core issues of economy (electricity, gas, security issues and good governance etc). So he decide to take emergency landing. And what could he do else.? Do you think he should wait for facing storm of blenders that will cause by Govt attitude not his one. 15 days before I listened the words from Finance Minister from a famous news channel saying

"May mushkilo say drnay wala nehien or hum bohet jld IMF say jaan chura lay ge"
(i do not fear of problems, soon we will get rid of IMF loan)

than why just after 15 days he display some of his personal problems for resignation.
Think about it!

Prove:

He suggested two names as alternative : Dr. Ejaz Nabi an economist at world bank and Shahid Kardar former Finance Minister Punjab to head the Planning Commission but the PM choose to planning commission to the to technocrats: Pasha & Hussain. It is a prove of the reason that I stated above. Finance Minister knew that Politicians wants a fellow politician even at Finance Ministry.

Still there should be a hope that such type of Parties & Politicians help us to become an Asian super Power when our three neighbor countries (IRAN, CHINA & INDIA) are struggling to discover themselves as a supper powers in near future.

My Dear: ISLAMIC R IS THE ULTIMATE NEED OF PAKISTAN..

{The author is Lahore based MBA student and he can be contacted at mhmdayaz@yahoo.com}

Indus Water Treaty-1960 in Doldrums--Wake Up Before its too late

2010-02-24T11:47:00.005+05:00

{its another post under the head of wake up before its too late, a series dedicated to the water issue. AZLAN}

WHILE the “power crisis” has caused the economic slowdown, India withheld millions of cubic feet of water upstream on the river Chenab by storing it in dozen of newly constructed dams so as to generate 8,696 MW hydro-electricity for the growing needs of its burgeoning population. This was a flagrant breach of Indus Water Basin Treaty of 1960, as the construction by India of Dulhasti, Dugar, Gondhala, Reoli/Dugli, Sach-Khas, Tandi, Teling Tinget, Sawalkot, Seli, Raoli and Kirthal hydropower projects has tremendously decreased the flow of Chenab river. India has commenced work on other two controversial dams on River Chenab named Uri-1 and Uri-2. Indian Prime Minister while inaugurating a 450-MW hydroelectric Baglihar Dam said:

“It is a matter of satisfaction that the reconstruction programme comprising 67 projects is well under way with 19 projects completed, one of which is Baglihar Dam that I inaugurated today”.

With such like projects to materialize on rivers flowing into Pakistan, the country will be increasingly confronted with impending water shortages. The talks on sharing of river waters between India and Pakistan suffered a severe blow due to Mumbai terror attacks of 26/11 that killed 166 people. Pakistan wants to resume unconditional dialogue process in resolving the bilateral problems, including the core Kashmir issue and also deal effectively with terrorism. Water issue is an ideal starting point for re-initiating “Composite dialogues” because the two countries face similar challenges so vital for their fast track agro-based economies.

Unfortunately, the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent is slipping into this new kind of war over the distribution of water as a resource. This is because the sources of all the five tributaries of the Indus - Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas and Sutlej remained in India. The dispute between India and Pakistan over water resources is rooted in history. Just after the partition of the subcontinent in 1948, Delhi stopped the flow of water from the canals on its side, denying water to some 8 per cent of the cultivated area. However, India agreed with Pakistan, which allowed for the continuation of water supplies for irrigation purposes until the Pakistani side managed to develop alternative water resources. As a result of World Banks constant efforts from 1952 to 1960, the Indus Water Treaty-1960 was signed, designed to regulate water use in the region. According to Indus Water Treaty of 1960, India has got the exclusive control over the waters of the Ravi, the Beas and the Sutlej, whereas Pakistan controls the waters of the Indus, the Jhelum and the Chenab. As the demand for water has increased by leaps and bounds, India is seeking maximum control over the sources of the supply of water of 3 western rivers, and thereby increasing the tension with Pakistan that share the claims over water.

The alarming situation again emerged in 1992, when India announced plans for the controversial water reservoir, the Baglihar Dam on the Chenab River - allotted to Pakistan by the 1960 treaty. The Chenab is fed with glacial melt-waters from the Himalayas and for centuries has provided crucial irrigational system for the region. While the accord gave India full rights to use water from the eastern rivers by building dams and barrages, it allowed limited irrigation use of water from the western river earmarked for Pakistan. The Treaty barred India from interfering “with the water of these rivers except for domestic use and non-consumptive use, limited agriculture use and limited utilization for generation of hydro-electric power.” The treaty also barred India from storing any water or constructing any storage works on the western rivers that would result in a reduced flow of water to Pakistan. According to Indus Water Treaty-1960, Pakistani position on the Chenab water issue has been that a minimum of 55,000 cusecs of water should flow into Pakistan at the Marala head-works near Sialkot in peak season; however, a flow of only 22,000 cusecs was recorded last year, adversely affecting the crops. However, during January 2010, the water flows in Chenab declined by 40 per cent to about 6,000 cusecs from a 10-year average of about 10,000 cusecs, mainly because of construction of hydropower projects upstream by India, reduction in rainfall and diversion of river waters. Most of the hydrologists are of the view that sharp water decline in flow of the river at Head-Marala in Pakistan is due to unauthorised direct water withdrawal by farmers in Jammu with the support of Indian authorities who had especially subsidized electricity for direct pumping in Jammu and Himachal Pradesh and diversion of Ravi-Tavi link canal. India used to irrigate 642,000 acres from western rivers by Ranbir and Pratap canals when the treaty became effective, but it had built five more canals over the past 10 years to increase the irrigated area. These include Kashmir canal system, high canal system in Jammu, Ravi-Tavi link irrigation system, Igo-phey canal in Leh and Kurbathang canal in Kargil. Pakistan has asked India to provide details of its agricultural acreage, crops and other projects to enable it to make plans in advance. Pakistan believes Baglihar dam on Chenab & Wullar barrage on Jhelum can be used as: (1) a geo-strategic weapon, (2) potential to disrupt the triple canal project of Pakistan, (3) badly affecting the Neelum-Jehlum hydro-power project, (4) setback to agriculture in Azad Kashmir and wheat production in Punjab, (5) drying of 5.6 million acres of lands of Punjab province, (6) depriving Pakistan of water up to 7000 cusecs per day, (7) neglecting the seismic activity in the area (Murree-Jhelum faulty lines).

In order to resolve the challenges judiciously, India must reconsider its decision of suspending the composite dialogue between India and Pakistan. India’s delaying tactics to restart the stalled bilateral negotiations on one pretext or the other are simply alienating the two nations further and are also not in the interest of India itself. Any major upstream alteration in a river system, should be negotiated, not imposed as in case of Indian water overtures on rivers Chenab and Jhelum. The Governments of India and Pakistan should look beyond national borders to basin-wide cooperation. A similar situation arose between India and Pakistan on the Salal Dam issue, but the matter was finally resolved through bilateral negotiations and conclusion of Salal Dam Treaty in 1978. As the Salal Dam issue was resolved through talks, given the will, the Baghliar Dam issue can also be settled. Pakistan had asked India to proportionately reduce their water use on its side when river water declined abnormally. Pakistan maintains that India, under the treaty, can store water but it cannot divert it to any other side. Thus, any diversion would violate the provisions of the IWT-1960. And once the issues related to water are discussed and settled, it can assist in easing tension between the two nuclear-armed neighbours. It is high time that both India & Pakistan should forego their vested interests for the overall prosperity of the region. The international community can play an instrumental role in coaxing India to resume dialogue process between India & Pakistan – so critical for the stability of the South Asia.

BY I A Khanzada

Source: The Pakistani Spectator

An SMS tale--What Actually We Need

2010-02-23T03:58:00.002+05:00

When I started to blog about serious issues and politics, I made some resolutions to myself to draw a line between the DOs and DONTs. At that time, among many decisions, I decided not to get impressed by any SMS. I don’t know why I decided so, though sometimes SMS proved to be good source for new topics.

Today when I have been blogging, on such issues, for almost a year I think I should break this rule again. Yes I broke it once before but I do not even remember when I did that. Two or three days back when I was working or I should say summing up some undone business, I got an SMS from a cousin of mine. I was in some deep thoughts after reading it, and I was thinking about the answers which were asked in it. I think I should share it rather than waiting time any more:

Questions to be answered…

Mr. Gilani what would you do if Dr. Afia was your daughter?

Mr. Zardari what was your reaction if Asifa was captured instead Dr. Afia?

Mr. Keyani what was your line of action if Dr. Afia was your sister?

Mr. Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhri how do you react if Americans charged your daughter?

Same is the question to Mr. Nawaz Sharif, Mr. Shehbaz Sharif, Mr. Asfand Yar, Mr. Altaf Husain, Mr. Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Mr. Rehman Malik, Mr Shujaat Husain, and many more.

Is there any one among us, who dares to bring the sister of nation back?

Sender:

R U Y

I don’t know I am allowed to use the full name of sender.

When I was trying to get out of the deep and massive wave creating sea of thoughts, I raised a point to satisfy my self , “no one cares for any one until it actually happens to him”. That’s is the case among all we don’t care for things going wrong around us until they start to harm us. Nothing will happen unless we have a sincere leadership. But the question is how and form where this sincere leadership will come from, we are the source of leadership and we have to be sincere.

That’s the tale of one SMS now let me switch to the other, well this Monday morning I had no plan to get up as I was enjoying my day off in my way, but a whole stream of some text messages created so much noise and vibration that I had to open my eyes and check that who is so eager to send me so many messages. There was an sms which caught my attention this time... here is the message;

What is Pakistan?

One of the largest salt producers, but negligible exports.

4^th largest milk producer but only 5% is processed and packaged.

World’s 4^th largest cotton producer but over 45% production capacity stopped due to energy crises.

4^th largest Mango producer but only 5% is exported

World’s 4^th largest sugarcane grower, with lowest yield per hectare.

World’s 5^th largest copper mine but no copper exports

World’s 6^th largest coal reserves, but remain unexploited.

Because both main parties believe in seat reservation theory, not in availing the opportunity. So change both the parties for a brighter Pakistan.

I was impressed by the facts and figures given in the SMS, and when I cross checked them, latter, they were correct. I replied to my friend via an SMS saying, “one thing you forgot to mention this almost dead economy is still 16^th largest economy of the world. There is great potential but we are still looking for the one who can properly use it”.

The reply I got was almost what I expected from a young man who is suffering from the ill things in the system and raising the slogan of change;

That’s what I tried to point out; the time has come that we should give a chance to someone else other than these two parties. These parties are based on the hereditary politics. There is no concept of such politics in Islam. These two parties are fighting with each other for more than two decades. And they clear the way for a dictator to outshine everything. We still expect good from them. We have to change this mind set, we have to come out of this status quo. Now we have more chances.

Before that I could say anything he further said;

These people who travel in helicopters and big cars, keeping the poor Dr. Afia in mind and take tea with Americans on the same table. These people keep their children and money out of country. And for such people it is really hard and almost impossible to think that what is the destination of Pakistan after ten years from now. How are we going to retain our existence and our culture? How they going to prepare the nation for a world economic war. My dear they can never know. We need a change and we must demand a change
.

I could not say anything in reply but once again I started to think that are we in right direction to be sincere with our homeland, raising slogans of change and pointing out the government and leadership is something which is outdated now. If we want a change there must be a sincere effort to change our self. If we believe in democracy – which means government for the people, of the people and by the people, than are the people sincere to the extent that they can select sincere leadership to rule and lead the nation on the road of success. I maintain that leaders are among us; unless we are not sincere we deserve to be ruled by such people. Whenever I think on this topic the only thing which becomes my ultimate source of answer is the verse of Holly Quran; which says that the kind of nation is the same kind of ruler it will have.

My opinion is still the same if you want a change and you want to see a sincere government that give a try to changing yourself as one of my favorite person says that there is no problem in and with Pakistan other than the bad habits of ours.

Some Unusual things in a Usual Way

2010-02-21T12:54:00.003+05:00

Such things never been my area of interest but today i dont know why when i get these pictures in an email, i couldnot resist to post them here, have a look and enjoy a few intersting unusual things which are usual in my land Pakistan

Jehlam-- a dew Glimpse of past and Present

2010-02-17T09:06:00.002+05:00

Jehlam—the land of warriors, braves, and martyrs, a land where societies, and so many tales are buried. It has been a land mark of ancient societies as it is situated in salt range. Attackers, trade caravans, and saints; entered subcontinent by passing this area. The Jehlam River prevented many attackers of invaders. The reference of Jehlam can also be seen in MAHANBHARAT “a holly book of Hindu religion”; it says that city was there on the both ends of river, eastern and western...

Budh Era:

The famous king of Buddhist religion, Ashoka used to rule Nepal, Sindh Baluchistan Punjab—including Jehlam in 272BC. After him Raja Kash K ruled this area, in the area of “Pothohar” the ruins of budh era can be seen at many places. According to the report of General King Hum; Dalwal, Malot, Katas, Kaler Kahar, were the favorite places to live for Panduas and Buddhists in Jehlam district.

According to the books of history Alexander faced Raja Porus, a famous Indian king, at the bank of Jehlam River when Alexander was on an expedition to conquer the world. During the fight the horse of Alexander died about whom Alexander used to believe that no one can beat him until that horse was with him. Alexander retreated after it. Historian says that the name of Alexander’s horse was Jehlam, in Greek language Jal means water and Hum means cold, so due to the characteristics of Jehlam River this name was given to it.

The ruins of era of Sultan Shahbudin Ghori, Sultan Mehmood Ghhaznavi, Muhammad Bin Qasim, and Emperor Altamash can be seen even today and many coins of such eras also found during the process of digging.

English era:

During the war of freedom of 1957 two platoons and an battery were present in Jehlam Cantonment. English divided the both platoons as the threat of rebellion by Muslim army, and tried to snatch their arms but Muslim soldiers showed great resistance and killed many English and Sikh officers and about 150 Muslim soldiers were martyr. This way people of Jehlam made it a land of martyrs.

During the British rule Jehlam was among the 4 districts of Rawalpindi division, and till now its status is the same. In 1884 Jehlam consist of four gains—P D Khan, Tala Kang, Chakwal, and Jalalpur. Alexander entered Jehlam via passing through a stream; even today this stream is known as NALA KHANDAR (Alexander). At the bank of this stream there is a building known as SIKANDAR E AZAM (Alexander the great) Complex, it was build through the grant of government of Greece, it freshens the memories of Alexander’s invade in Jehlam. In this complex articles form the time of Alexander are exhibited and the architect of the building is of Greek trend.

Company garden, civil lines is a beautiful garden which is adjacent to courtyard, it was build by the heads of East India company, there was a stage for band performers, a lawn for deer, and a grassy field, among them the trees, ever loaded with fruits, are the major attractions for the visitors. There used to be a tennis court and a badminton court; now they are no more and a mirage hall has replaced it—to me it must have ruined the beauty of garden.

There were two Inns in Jehlam during British rule one of them was at the bank of river known as Mangal Sen Ki Saraaye (Mangal Sen’s Inn). This inn is extinguished now. However the other one was at Railway Road, its name was Davi Das Inn—now its known as Gulshan Inn.

Jubilee Ghat- it is monument built by Lala Dhanip Rai (he was an honorary Magistrate in English era), at the bank of river and it was built in the celebrations of crowning King Jorge IV. As this monument is at the bank of river so it is a public point for gatherings and arranging events. This place also has privilege to be witness of many events during the freedom struggle. Quaid e Azam, Fatima Jinnah, and Raja Ghazanfar Ali addressed a public gathering here. The place where Quaid addressed is now known as Pakistani Medan (ground).

There was an important guruduwara of Sikh religion beside the Jubilee ghaat, now this building is used as investigation center of CIA police. The historic mosque—Masjid Afghanan, is also located near jubilee ghaat. This mosque is also a monument of British era. One small door of mosque used to open in river and the flow of water used to touch the stairs of mosque to add glory to the beauty of mosque. There was a library beside the mosque which was built as a memorial to the great Turkish leader Ataturk. Now this library is no more as it has been a victim of laziness of administration. The design of Mosque is a proof of great architect of the past. Now due to less flow of water in river, one can’t see water near mosque but one can surely see the mess around it which is an evidence of insensitivity of people.

Wild Life of Pakistan

2010-02-14T02:03:00.001+05:00

AdderAndalusian HemipodeArabian Toad-Headed AgamaAsian Openbil Asiatic Black BearBanded Sea Snake Barn SwallowBaya Weaver (Male)Baya Weaver (Female)BazzardBlack Headed GulBlack Rat CroppedBlack Redstart (Female) Black Redstart (Male)BlackbirdBlackbuck - Male & FemaleBlack-Crowned Night HeronsBrahimini Kite House GeckoBrown Creeper Brown Fish OwlBullfrogCaracal Cattle EgretChaffinch (Female)Chaffinch (Male)

21st Century Marketing, An Evening with Carlos Cashman

2010-02-12T12:05:00.005+05:00

After getting job, which I was looking for ever since I passed out the college, and to my luck I got the job in this past January right after my graduation ceremony. Getting a job was great as somehow I was not all about sitting at home reading magazines, watching TV, and using Internet and living life without any discipline, life is changed ever since I joined my current job there is some discipline in my life as well. There are few draw backs too, I am not complaining but its fact nothing is perfect and human never get satisfied, and that is the fact that now I was bound to give more than 8 hours of a day to my company and it was not allowing me to attend the events, and I started to think that I will become same as I was before October 2009, for those who don't know me much or met me after that let me disclose a fact about me that I was a big anti social person before that a simply home to college and college to home guy.

This past Monday, I was having a day off and on my facebook I could see some invitations to attend some events and 21st century marketing; and evening with Carlos Cahsman, was one of them. Till Sunday my official status about this event was, may be attending due to job and flu was a reason for it, but as I got to know I am having a day off on this Monday I decided to be there, though my mother tried to stop me due to some rain, but I think in all those years she is bearing me she has come to know that how much I love to be in the rain, specially when there is raining after so long.

So cutting the story short and let me reach the venue, the event was held by TIE Lahore and the venue was Royal Palm golf and country club, the first problem, I faced after reaching the venue was to put my rain coat somewhere, and at that time I saw Farhan Bhai, who was there like an angel for me and he allowed me to put it in his car and I am really thankful for it Farhan Bhai.
After the registration process I entered the hall and met Marryam Chaudhri, she was also member of FLU club than I hope she is doing fine now, after bloggers meet up at PC Lahore it was second time I met her I wanted to talk about her radio shows which missed to listen to but the flu has really made me a dumb and I forgot to talk anything about it.

Adnan Bhai and Badar Khushnood were there too and many more people I met but I know these two better, Syed Hassan Tallal was there as well and it was good to see another member of flu club there.

The event was about to start at 5 PM but I think it started at about half past 5, Umer Saeed Khan started the show by describing the road map. The President of TIE Lahore, Monis Rehman gave the Opening Remarks, and, than the man of the evening Mr. Carlos Cashman was on the stage to make a keynote speech, as Badar bhai said it was a great speech and it was interesting to listen it some good information that I got too and Carlos also cracked some jokes too. He said that the thing which defines marketing is ROI (return on investment), he also described that how search engine marketing works, and he quoted some interesting and informative examples like Secret London, the dollars generated by selling virtual goods and many more. Another interesting fact that he told was the Marketers in his company are people from Computer Sciences.

After that there was a panel discussion which was moderated by Adnan Bhai (Assistant Professor UMT), which was followed by Question and Answer session. What I think about this part of event is that it was wrapped up early as the time was running out. Oh I forgot to mention the people who were in the panel: Carlos Cashman (CEO, Constellation Inc.), Badar Khushnood (Country Consultant, Google Pakistan), Amer Sarfraz (Head of Media & Strategy, Bramerz), Zafar Khan (CEO, Sofizar).
During the discussion some interesting statements got my attention like:

We are moving to mobile commerce rather than conventional E-Commerce. (Baddar Khushnood)

If you run an ad campaign there must be a goal at the end of it: (Zafar Khan)

Try to do some experiment to gain some credibility

After the discussion was over it was time for Hi-Tea and networking session, again this time during the networking session met some great people Mr. Adeel Anwar is one of them and I am glad that he still remember me, and Fahad Iqbal is another great guy I met, I was impressed by his keenness towards the campaign he is running but the kind of response he got is bit disappointing to me but I want to say that if you are reading this I am with you man as I believe that you are correct in your way. I also got chance to talk to Mr. Carlos Cashman, and the myth of movie 21 was one of the question I wanted to ask him but Fahad asked it before I could do so. Mr. Zafar Khan also joined us and me and Fahad talked about the job opportunities in there company. Well when Carlos came to know that I am a blogger he told me to write about them that their company needs some good programmers, so if any programmer reading this there is a chance :P.
The best part of the event was after the event when Farhan bhai, I and KamalaSubhani (ACCA Student) had a detailed discussion on what whole speech and discussion was about, some of the mysteries were resolved by Farhan bhai and I am working on them now, and the tips of Farhan bhai were easy to understand and practice as they were given by a Pakistani to a Pakistan, the practice and tips given by Carlos was more of a US based thing, well I think I have written enough and I should wrap this up now, oh I forgot to mention I am invited to visit office of Farhan bhai, and I am eager to visit it and see his new product.

In The Search of Snow--8, finally the search was over...

2010-02-08T01:18:00.005+05:00

The decision was made to reach the top of the mountain with the help of chairlift, while collecting our tickets me and bilal were on a mission, Bilal has almost switched on his network. I know we were trying to do something not so good but still we were in the limits of manners.

All four of us get into two lifts to reach the top, Bilal was with me because he could not afford to take a risk by letting me to play an innings on my desired wicket. It was really nice reaching on the top and the reason was my success as the thing for which I traveled so much was now under my feet close—really close to me. It was really near to my eyesight, I know it does not have any smell but I was feeling the pleasant aroma of snow.

The mountains in near by were having a sun bath as they were wrapped in a blanket of snow and few were wrapped in muffler of snow. I think I never felt as good as I was feeling at that time, the light sunshine was really making it great, and the snow which was melting due to sunshine was creating a bit coldish scenario, and it was adding the double color to the experience.

We caught this memorable experience in the film of photo camera. At least I was enjoying and celebrating my victory by throwing the snow balls on others but I don’t know why they were doing so. I felt as I have become a kid again, I wanted to run in snow for no reason, hit others with snow balls, and really wanted to lay on this snow and have some twist and turns. For such condition of mine if any one calls me “thurra hua” (greedy) than it won’t be wrong, as I was really a thurra hua at that time.

Every thing has to end regardless the fact its good or bad same happened to the experience. The round was photography was on now and we were in front of PTDC resort, the sight and sceneries around the resort were startling.

Till that time we were motivated and eager to go to Mengora—at least I wanted to see the museum of that place, but when the driver told us that it will charge extra or I should say more and more bucks, we all backed off. The sky was covered with think dark clouds when we were on the way back to Behrain.

I decided to enjoy the whole journey by hanging with the jeep, the weather was awesome, the route was amazing, and the sceneries were breath taking, all of them were like a dream for me, those lush green mountain and some of them were under the cover of snow, the sky was full of clouds and how can I forget Swaat river, the same river which was irritating me like any thing a two days back, was looking so beautiful that day. Now, the time I am writing this, I am much more caught in the charm of those sceneries than the time I was actually enjoying them. May be the reason behind this is the poem Daffodils of William Words Worth, the summery of which I was unable to under stand when I was in class 9^th, and I asked Mr. Atique (an English Professor, who used to live near my house) to read the whole poem and make me understand it.

The poem left its effects on me, with my attempts to learn its summery, and I think the same effect was showing its colors that day. While I was hanging with the jeep I was praying that it should not rain, and if it rains than it should not be a hurdle in our way to back Lahore.

Ufone Introduces Islamic Handset for Rs.1650

2010-02-07T23:34:00.003+05:00

Ufone once again came up with a new product, now with the Ufone Islamic Handset. Earlier some private companies were offering this kind of handset but their prices were very high. This Islamic handset comes with some built-in Islamic features, such as Azaan alarm, Islamic wallpapers and ringtones, direction of Qiblah etc. A wonderful phone that comes...

Ufone once again came up with a new product, now with the Ufone Islamic Handset. Earlier some private companies were offering this kind of handset but their prices were very high.

This Islamic handset comes with some built-in Islamic features, such as Azaan alarm, Islamic wallpapers and ringtones, direction of Qiblah etc. A wonderful phone that comes equipped with hands-free mode, WAP/MMS enabled and a color display, all for just Rs.1650..

Handset is Available at Ufone Service Centers

Specifications of Phone:

Islamic Ring tones
Prayer Alarm, timings of 5 time prayers & alarm facility for each.
Feature of direction for prayer & Sunrise information.
With features like Fm Radio, Loud Speaker, Stereo Head Set & Added accesories
Islamic IVR Service 1314 & one touch access to Islamic Portal
16 chord poly phonic ring tones
Color display
Predictive input
Hands free mode
LCD Size 1.5"
WAP/MMS capable
Weight Approx 70 Grams (including battery)
Stand by time 350 hours (Network dependent)
Talk time 210 Mins (Network dependent)
Speed dial feature

Is a Leader All About Sacrifice or We are Ungrateful???

2010-02-02T18:51:00.004+05:00

In the quest of meaning of leader I sometimes come across to many events, books, and people even, and that's what happened again but this time I was not expecting it to happen. I was coming out of café after having some tea, few guys were standing there when I was passing by them one of them asked, “are you the one who blogs?” As soon I answered the question another question came up but this time it was by one of other guy; “what you blog about?”. “PAKISTAN” was my answer.
The guy, who asked the question, seems not to be very happy with the system and leadership asked me another question “do you also blog about Quaid e Azam?” I said why not if it is required. With this line of mine the situation was changed and now we both were in an argument where I was only an active listener- - just to get a point from where I can hit back.
That guy was quite angry because of him, but the point he gave ,e was that the accept that Quaid is a great leader but he was not ready to accept the fact that Quaid was fighting for Pakistan as he believe that he was fighting for the personality clash.
He was stressing on a point that Quaid e Azam do not dissevers the respect which he is having today. Through out this discussion I was raising points to prove that Quaid was leader of whole nation not a certain class. In the mean while the guy who started the conversation was also in the ground with a diplomatic approach and he said a wonderful thing; “to be a leader one has to be self-centered”.
The angry young man was bit convinced and rather I should say was calmed due to the catharses he just did, but he was still stick with the point that why Quaid was enjoying the luxuries of fine suits and expansive cigarettes when most of his followers were starving for food, why he was using luxurious cars when the migrating newly became Pakistanis were being burnt in trains and having hardships In life. The crux of the point is that what he sacrificed to earn the respect where his followers gave away lives, bodies and wealth.
I can only say that the luxury he were enjoying-he warned it, don't forget he was one of the best lawyer at that time, and the respect he earned is due to the fact that he sacrifices the time of his life which he can use in making more and more money being a good lawyer, he sacrificed his health just to give a free home land to the Muslims of this region. The guys left the scene and I was moving to the destination of mine with a question in my mind “does a leader really have to sacrifice something physically... Or we are a nation of ungrateful people?”

The Oily Drone Attack by OGRA

2010-02-02T01:46:00.006+05:00

This past Saturday, I was having a day off so I decided to finish some unfinished business and I started it by paying the bill of tailor uncle, getting the engine oil of my bike was the next, the list is bit long so let me come the thing I did last I went to the petrol pump and get some petrol filled in my bike, though at that time my bike was not in need of it, actually I had a fear or me should say I was expecting an increase in its price by the end of the month.
On Sunday evening, while I was sitting in my office I received an SMS which was more of a bad news, that evening was not that good got two bad news one after the other, it was an SMS by my friend and it goes like this:

MUBARIK HO PETROL 6 RUPAE AOR 10 PESE MEHNGA HO GYA HAY.
(congratulations petrol price is increased by 6 Rupees and 10 pc)

It was a bad news indeed and for me it was like an old Punjabi saying (translation) when poor started observing fast days become longer, another similar saying can be found in Urdu which is based on hail and bald head. The first thing came in my heart was that don't worry you have bought it in lesser price but as my fiend said Laly wont U buy it again, ever??? The fear emerged suddenly and the reason behind the fast of poor captured me for a while, I started thinking that how will I mange the fuel expenses in future as office is shifting to new location which is far away from my home?
Till last night I thought about this but that I stopped warring about it, same old Pakistani way, nothing will be good if I will keep thinking about it, these were my feelings at that time. I have no complaint with the government now, because I have strongly started feeling now that there is nothing such as government in this country. It is only a blessing of Allah that this country is surviving till now.
When I am having news about the decrease in prices of oil in the world market we are bound to enjoy this commodity in 6.10 Rs more than the price we were paying till last weekend, and more on this as the petrol filling stations were also expecting this news they stopped the sale of petrol this Sunday to avail the golden opportunity. Such a pathetic thing happens every month when petrol's new price is expected no matter its rising or falling the fuel on the last day of month is hard to fined for a common man, oh sorry I forgot I call mango man not common man so I take the common part back. Still we expect that there is something like government.
I can't understand the mathamagical based formula of OGRA which decreases the oil prices in cents but increases the prices in rupees what a magic they have in their calculating devices. In the world market when oil price is 74.14$ per barrel and as per my calculations it might be costing near 58.31 Rupees per litter (these are my calculations and if someone has better and accurate calculations please do let me know and increase my knowledge). The figure I just put is inclusive the tax which government expect to earn. Still I am forced to believe that there is something which is called government, in this country. We can offer the basic necessities to the people, we cant control the inflation we cant control the sky high price hike its not in our control to stabilize the price of Oil and value of Rupee is still fluttering like a last leaf on a tree, but still we are eager to have Ranted Power Plants and if we are not forgetting they will also work or run on oil so get ready my country men for another increase in oil price soon.

P.S> here are two links interesting to read though the information might be bit outdated but still a must to read according to me: