Tamasha

I left my house at around 2:30 pm. On reaching the street where my polling station was located, I noticed that there were no camps of Pakistan Peoples Party or MMA. Only the MQM camps were there and only their volunteers were present and in big numbers. I reched my polling station and surprisingly there were no polling agents of any other party but MQM. A huge number of MQM’s supporters were present inside the polling station. Since my all my relatives had always been devoted MQM supporters. Every one there thought that I am definitely going to vote MQM. They laughed when I showed my Identity card. They even asked me if I would like to cast another vote. I saw a 30 plus guy showing a pink slip of paper to presiding officer and getting a ballot paper without showing any identity card.

MQM’s volunteers were not only disturbing the polling process they were even spying on the polling booths. When I went inside to stamp on the ballot paper, a twenty plus guy was watching my ballot paper. I asked him to look away and when he disappeared I stamped my ballot papers. Dropped ballot papers in ballot boxes. I sat there with other MQM volunteers (they were all guys from my neighbourhood, some were relatives, cousins, etc.) no one asked me to leave the polling station and I saw many people coming showing identity cards of their dead relatives and casting votes. Many people came showing pink papers and casting votes, many people were accompanied by councillors, naib nazims, and MQM supporters.

When I was leaving the polling station I saw a forgein election observer accompanied by a Pakistani man and a woman. I thought for a while that may be I should talk to her, but then decided that it will be such a waste of time, she must have known whats going on by now.

Its quite clear now that Dr. Mirza Ikhtiar Baig has lost to Khushbakh Shujaat of MQM. What I don’t understand is that why MQM bothered to stage bogus votes when it was already quite clear that they would win easily?

Update: Dr. Alvi reports rigging in Gulistan-e-Johar Karachi. He noticed the same things that I have mentioned above.

To me it seems like every one in the world has already read all Harry Potter books. At first, I didn’t read Harry Potter because I thought that it is a story for children. But it became so popular all over the world, grown ups were talking about Harry Potter everywhere. I still decided not to read the book, I thought that reading Harry Potter books is the latest trend. People will soon get out of it and find something else, something cooler and more mature than the story of a wizard. But the buzz was every where and with the arrival of movies, Harry Potter became a global phenomena. Now I have my mind forcing me to read the books. I had seen movies on television, and was familiar with the characters. Harry, Professor Dumbledor, Hermoine, Ron, and the whole lot of magicians, witches, elves, dragons, ghosts and owls, and the Quidditch.

Finally, I decided that I must read it. I went to the nearest bookstore and bought the first two books. I didn’t buy all of them because I still felt that I might not be able to enjoy the books. After reading the few chapters of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, I knew that I was wrong. This is an interesting read and I am no different than most in the whole world.

The Harry Potter series is a story of a young boy who lived with his relatives. The Dursleys, treated him like dirt. His parents died in a mysterious accident when he was a baby. His relatives, Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon wouldn’t talk about his parents. It seemed that they disliked Harry and his parents for some unknown reasons. Then one day, Harry finds out that his parents were no ordinary people. They were magicians and Harry is a wizard too. He recieves a letter informing him that he has got admission in Hogwarts, an school for wizards and witches. The Dursleys didn’t want Harry to attend Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry. They try to hide and ran away to secluded place. But then a very large and mysterious man appears and personally delivers the letter to Harry and takes him to shop for his school uniform, accessories and books.

J. K. Rowling the author of this wonderful series has her way with words. She doesn’t tell you any thing, she keeps the focus on Harry, just like the readers Harry also don’t know anything about the world of magicians. The reader learns about the fantasy world by following Harry everywhere. Reader starts thinking and feeling like Harry, A boy who knows nothing about his past. Naturally he is curious to know about his parents, how they died and why he is a household name in the magic world. When he reaches Hogwarts, this curiousity leads him to discover secrets he was not supposed to learn about. This boy with very little knowledge of witchcraft faces the darkest evil forces of magic world.

Rolwing is something of a witch herself. She adds just the right ingredients to make a great read. There is magic, fantasy, thriller, mystery, heroism, emotions and a whole lot of elves, dragons, witches, owls, flying brooms, and portraits that talked. I would say that this book is a must read for anyone of any age. I will start reading Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, the second book in the series tonight. Wrapped in my beloved blanket with strawberry milkshake and snacks. I feel like a child again, and its beautiful.

Bullying is a serious problem. Specially for the children who become victim of bullying in schools, neighborhoods or communities. A few days ago my neice Minahil was bullied by some children in the neighbourhood. Her mother called me for advice. I don’t have any children, I am not even married. But I have an interest in parenting and children.

The incident that happened to Minahil, reminded me of some incidents from my own childhood. I was bullied by some children at school and in our neighborhood. It left a long lasting impression on my personality. A part from stress, as an adult I had difficulty to interact with other people. Fear of being ridiculed, bullied or ignored ruled my life. I realized the problem and got over it. But the impact was so long lasting that it still hurts when I think about it.

Parents should take bullying very seriously. Talking to your child helps but you can do a lot more than that. Teach your children how to protect themselves from bullies. Teach them how to diffuse the situation and help them by action. Looking around I found some very helpful web pages.

• Wikipedia - Bullying
• Bullying Prevention
• Stop Bullying Now US Department of Health and Human Services offers flash movies, games, and information about bullying and how to prevent it.
• Stop Bullying Now! Presenting practical research-based strategies to reduce bullying in schools.

Parents need to learn what they should do to help their children whether they are the victims or the bullies, they need help. It is also important that parents teach their children that they should help their friends and other children if they see someone bullying them or trying to hurt them. It is important that we teach our children about their right to be safe and how to seek and provide help to others.

My neice Minahil is having trouble with her new class. She is in kindergarten’s first year. She loved her school and her teacher Miss Saima back in pre-nursery. After the three month summer break, she has now started crying while going to school. Minahil’s parents are really upset about this new situation. Minahil wasn’t like that last year, so whats changed now? They understand that she is having difficulty getting herself adjust in the new room, new year and new teacher.

My sister Anney (Minahil’s mother) talked to Minahil’s teacher who told her that it is a very common problem among children of this age. She assured Anney that there is nothing to worry about, Minahil’s performance in class is more than satisfactory and she stops crying as soon as she enters the classroom. Anney and Ejaz think that may be there is something about this new teacher, may be she is too hard on their daughter, they are also thinking that there could be some other child or adult behind Minahil’s behavior change.

I looked on the web and it seems like this is a very common problem all over the world. This is a difficult time for the children, but parents and teachers can do a lot to make them feel better. Kidsource online has some great tips regarding this issue. Preschool Education also offers similar tips.

The key to get over this phase quickly is not to let the children think that they can win over the parents. Their should be no sick leaves, no school skipping, this is a tough decision for parents. But being a good responsible parent you will have to do it.

The world was already worried about Pakistan’s madrassas and tribal areas being used as base camps for Taleban insurgents. But now they are panicked because it seems like the militants has started showing off their power in the capital of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the only muslim country with Nuclear weapons. The controversy revolves around a mosque known as Red Mosque and a madrassa run by the mosque,Jamia Hafsa, an Institute of Islamic studies. Recently the students of this madrassa attacked a house in Islamabad, kidnapped three women who lived in that house and demanded that Adultry cases must be filed against these women or else Jamia would arrange an Islamic court and punish the women itself.

Their Business is Jihad
The Guardian’s Declan Walsh visits Islamabad’s Red Mosque a hotbed of Islamic militancy at the heart of Pakistan’s capital.

Profile: Islamabad’s red madrassa

Trouble brews at Islamabad’s jihad-preaching mosque But their arrest and the seizure of the officers and an alleged manager of a local brothel during a morality dispute is a sideshow to more sinister activity inside the giant complex with 11,000 students.

The Daily Dawn’s Zafar Abbas calls it ‘The creeping coup‘.

ATP’s Adil Najam writes:

The hostage-taking by women students from Jamia Hafsa in Islamabad of the residents of a house that they allege is a brothel is not just another act of vigilantism and a breakdown of governance; it is also a manifestation of a nation divided against itself.

Below is a video showing Maulana Abdul Rasheed Ghazi, the head of madrassah and the mosque administration, telling about the Mosque, the Madrassa and the ideology that he and the madrassa students believe in.

City District Government of Karachi has banned Plastic shopping bags. During last few days the CDGK took strict action against the manufacturers of these Plastic bags, resellers and distributors. CDGK’s action has resulted into an acute shortage of paper bags, rubber bands and other packing materials that are widely used by local grocery stores and shop keepers. The shop keepers are facing difficulty to come up with some quick alternate to plastic bags.

There is no doubt that these plastic bags are dangerous for the environment and managing them with the garbage is real trouble for CDGK. Since there is no proper system of handling and disposing garbage, these plastic bags cause damage to city’s infrastructure such as electric and water supply and sewerage system.

It takes almost 500 to 1000 years for a plastic bag to decompose. It is possible to recycle plastic bags but it is an expansive solution for a city like Karachi. These plastic bags are so cheap that once used, there is no incentive for people to reuse them again. Every shop keeper, store and retailer offers a free bag with almost every thing. From Large electrical appliances to ice cream vendors, every one offers shopping bag for no extra cost. When mixed with other garbage these plastic bags create a huge mess of pollution. Even the developed nations are facing difficulty combating the disposal and recycling of plastic shopping bags.

The advantages of banning the plastic bags are unlimited. However, there are still some concerns over such an immediate action. This is a huge industry the ban would affect thousands of people involved in manufacturing, distribution and resell of these bags. Mass usage of Paper bags is itself not an environment friendly idea but these bags are easy to recycle and they get easily decomposed naturally.

Pakistan Cricket Team’s coach Bob Woolmer has passed away. To me, an average Pakistani, this is one of the many sad news that the nation is getting from everywhere.

1. The Cheif Justice Case
2. Police agression against lawyers protesting on the situation.
3. Police attack on the private television network’s premises in Islamabad.
4. Pakistani cricket team’s shameful performance against the Ireland in the cricket world cup.
5. And now Bob Woolmer’s death.

Bob Woolmer was a great Pakistani. He died while working for Pakistan. The nation is sad on this sudden loss.

The Google Zeitgeist now shows popular queries from Pakistan. In January 2007, the most popular query made by Pakistanis is Pakistan itself. Yes, the country we live in is just as mysterious and unknown to us as it is for any European or African.

We don’t really have any stars and celebrities of our own in Pakistan. The only Pakistani who made it to top 15 search queries, is Atif Aslam defeated by Sania Mirza the Indian tennis star.

Karina Kapoor, Katrina Kaif, Aishwarya Rai, Shahrukh Khan, Salman Khan and bollywood itself is one of the most popular queries made by Pakistanis. No matter how much Pakistanis love Bollywood and Indian Stardust, the search term Urdu is the eighth most popular query.

Karachi is the eleventh most popular search term, warid at 12 and Jang got the 13th position.

When Lahore is celebrating Basant, there is a man, Shaukat who entered the city with the dead bodies of his five children, injured and exhausted wife, and his now only child a baby girl.

The Supereme Court of Pakistan ordered a ban over kite flying in Punjab to combat the side effects of Basant. Government of Punjab, removed the ban for two days to celebrate Basant in Lahore. Strict measures are taken to protect innocent lives and infrastructure, and to maintain law and order during Basant. But how could you expect the wild masses to abide the law when the wild government itself has teared it up into pieces.

This, the country of contrasts is full of conflicting stories. In another city, Peshawar, schools were threatened to be attacked by suicide bombers if they do not end up their co eduction school system.

A provincial minister gets killed by a lunatic, who is crazy about saving the Islamic identity of Pakistani women. This is the country where one province is moving fast towards Talebanization and another province trying hard to depict liberalization and freedom by breaking the law.

A woman mourning over the dead body of her relative who died during the terrorist attack on Samjhota Express.

Women in Lahore wearing smiles and buying kites to celebrate Basant.

School girls in Islamabad running during the inter school competitions.

Principle of Girl’s school in Mardan, a city in Pakistani province NWFP. Wearing Burqa and telling media about the threat letters she has recieved from Taleban to follow the strict Islamic burqa guidelines.

Pakistan is entering into a new era of prosperity. The country has internet access in almost all cities. There are computer labs in schools and colleges, every other day you would see some government officer inaugrating a new computer lab in some school or college. Musharraf’s government is proud that they have made so many TV channels available to Pakistanis. All medium to large size companies, institutions and organizations have some www address printed on their business cards, posters and advertisements.

But I feel that we as a nation are absolutely clueless about what information is and how important role it plays in the development of nations. We know that our organizations, businesses or institutes need a www.myorganization.com.pk website. But we have no idea how to use the world wide web. We have fruits in our hands but we don’t know that in order to enjoy their juices we need to bite them. In 2006 Pakistanis can not download your utility bills. Even after yeas of hard work to bring these small but significant changes to lives of Pakistanis, we failed.

Karachi Electric Supply Corporation (KESC), is a Pakistani company with a www.kesc.com.pk domain name. KESC supplies electricity to more than 14 Million residents, businesses and industries in the Megapolis and surrounding areas. This giant corporation’s website has only three links on their main page. Rest of the page is an screenshot of a website and is displayed in Gif image format. I remember KESC had a functional website sometime ago and I have downloaded my electricity bill from their website. I remember they had detailed information available. Now every thing is gone.

The Website has a picture telling visitors that KESC has 92 customer services centers, but no addresses, telephone numbers or email addresses available. A picture titled “Latest News” tells you about Federal Minister Mr. Liaquat Jatoi’s visit to KESC headquarters on 29 September 2006, nothing more on that is available.

I don’t know how many Bills KESC issues each month, but this URL is printed on the back of each KESC bill. I don’t know how many people make an attempt to look at the KESC website each day or month. But I find it quite suprising that they are so careless about all this.

The website (a poster actually) doesn’t disclose any contact information so I was unable to contact people who are responsible for this job at KESC. It has a link at the bottom telling that the website designed and maintained by e-Creatorz. I filled out the contact form on the e-creatorz website on January 19 and asked them about the situation. They didn’t disclose or clarify anything, simple told me to wait till the website is relaunched hopefully in a few days. Now after a month, www.KESC.com.pk still displays the flyer that you can get created by the graphic designers at Burns Road for RS.100. I don’t blame e-Creatorz for getting more money than they deserved. I blame KESC for being so cruel, barbaric and ignorant.

KESC and all Pakistanis who can not understand the importance of information, the broken websites, useless and contentless macromedia flashy websites, and the 30 minutes per week per student computer labs. These are the signs that Pakistan is not entering into any new era of prosperity. We are actually going back in the reverse gear. Yes we are making progress and working hard but in the wrong and totally opposite direction than the one that leads to knowledge, power and freedom.