Citizen's Speak - Flood Relief Donations Drive, Pakistan Charities.

Al-Khidmat Foundation:

Al-Khidmat Foundation Pakistan is working as an independent, non-governmental, non-profit and charitable organization. It works under its own Memorandum of Articles of Association and leadership. It has no affiliation with any regional ethnic or political organization of Pakistan or any where in the world. Al-Khidmat is exclusively engaged and supports charitable activities and programs. It neither seeks political positions nor does it supports, it provides to any other organization at home or abroad it is purely for charitable purposes, particularly supporting education, health-care and other related relief services. Al-Khidmat Foundation is dedicated to the services of humanity all parts of the world without any discrimination of creed, religion and political association

More info on Flood Relief: http://al-khidmatfoundation.org/flood_relief.php

Donate here: http://al-khidmatfoundation.org/donate-here.php

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Edhi Foundation:

Edhi foundation is the most trusted name in Pakistan when it comes to relief work within distressed areas in Pakistan and the rest of the world. Edhi foundation is a NON Profit organization that has been in the business of providing social services like medical care, emergency services, air ambulances, burial services, mental habitats, old homes, child welfare services, abused women safe houses and training facilities for the disadvantaged..

Edhi's founder is Abdul Sattar Edhi who established the first clinic in 1951.

Donate here: http://www.edhifoundation.com/contact.asp

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Sarhad Rural Support Programme:

Concerned citizens based in Lahore are collecting relief items for the Sarhad Rural Support Programme, the largest NGO in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province. SRSP's experience and size make it the most suitable choice for donations at this time. They are a part of the Rural Support Programmes Network (rspn.org), founded by Shoaib Sultan Khan, who was nominated for the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize (along with President Obama and others).

People may make donations directly to SRSP, write crossed cheques to us in favor of SRSP or donate relief goods directly to them (which will then be loaded on to trucks headed for SRSP warehouses in Peshawar. People are also welcome to join in the effort of loading the trucks and actually making the trip to the affected areas to see the profound difference their generosity makes in the lives of so many.

The link to their Facebook page is: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=120053684708340

Contact: Umar Agha. Cell: 0321 842-2425 and email: ua2121@columbia.edu

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Omar Asghar Khan Development Foundation

Established in 1999, Omar Asghar Khan Foundation strives for a democratic and peaceful society based on the values of equity, tolerance and justice in which all people are assured a life of quality. It works with citizens, particularly the poor and the vulnerable, to achieve human and livelihood security. The Foundation organizes citizens, assists them in engaging with the state on policy and institutional reform, and supports their livelihood strategies through skill-building, credit provision, and community infrastructure development. The Foundation is a national organization with its field base in NWFP. The Foundation has a staff of 60 and offices in Islamabad and Abbottabad.

See: http://www.oakdf.org.pk/

Donate here:

Title of Account: Omar Asghar Khan Development Foundation

Account #: 0030445261000455

Name of Bank: MCB Bank (1028), Super Market, Islamabad-Pakistan

Swift Code: MUCBPKKAMCC

Tax Exemption: 6043/ATD/2008-09

Sungi:

Donate here: http://sungi.org/emergency_donations_contact_information.html

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Pakistan Red Crescent Society:

Pakistan Red Crescent Society was founded on December 20, 1947 by the order ‘The Pakistan Red Cross Order’ courtesy Quaid-e- Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Governor General of Pakistan and Founder President of the Society. The International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) recognized PRCS on July 21, 1948. Later it was admitted as a member of the League of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (Now called International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies-IFRC) on August 18, 1948. Pakistan Red Cross Society was renamed as Pakistan Red Crescent Society in 1973.

PRCS has offices in Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, Quetta and Muzaffarabad.

Please see: http://www.prcs.org.pk/

Donate here: http://www.prcs.org.pk/help.asp

Prem Chand, A Pakistani

http://pakistaniat.com/2010/08/01/prem-chand-coffin-kafir/

Amongst the 152 who died in last Wednesday’s tragic crash of Air Blue flight were six members of the Youth Parliament. All death in this tragedy were sad. The death of these talented youth with aspirations of building a better Pakistan was no exception. Maybe it was tragedy compounded. But the story of one of them is sadder even than the others – and because of what happened to him after he died!

 

This is the story of Prem Chand, a bright young social worker from Sanghar (Sindh), one of the members of Youth Parliament, and one of those who died on the ill-fated AirBlue flight 202. His death – like the death of everyone on that flight – was a matter of national tragedy; the treatment of his dead body a matter of national disgrace.

According to news reports in The News and The Express Tribune young Prem Chand’s coffin was marked “Kafir” – a word that literally means ‘infidel’ or ‘non-believer’ but is mostly used as a serious slur in Pakistan. Literally labeling someone’s coffin as “Kafir” and not even giving them the respect to list their religion by its proper name, is a shameful and disgusting way to disrespect the last remains of anyone. All the more so the last remains of a patriotic Pakistani who was on that plane solely to represent Pakistan and to seek to be a better Pakistani – he was on his way to the ‘session’ of the Youth Parliament!

According to The News:

The members of Youth parliament [on the day following the crash] protested against the marking of the coffin of one of their colleague Prem Chand as ‘Kafir.’ “It was shocking. He could have been marked as Hindu or non-Muslim, but using the word ‘Kafir’ is the worst example of intolerance,” said MYP Muneeb Afzal.

The Express Tribune writes:

Ehsan Naveed Irfan is a member of the youth parliament and he is the one who identified Prem Chand’s body. He told me that his coffin was marked as “Kafir” first with black and then outlined with red to make it more prominent. He told me that he and his friends removed it with a marker and wrote “We love you – from the youth parliament” instead.

A friend of Prem Chand made this comment on Syed Ali Abbas Zaidi’s blog:

I am Muneeb Afzal, a Member of Youth parliament of Pakistan and a Colleague and Friend of Late Prem Chand. An extremely hard-working person he was a symbol of tolerance. My last communication with him was on night before the Air Crash, he gave his greetings to me on occasion of 15th of Shabaan.

At PIMS fortunately another friend of ours was there when Prem’s Cousin Nanik Das came to search for his body, he quickly hid the tag ‘kafir’ by putting marker lines on it, so that Prem’s family which is already suffering from great grief does not have to bear more hurt. Although later at a memorial session where media was present I criticized the inhumanity and intolerance of those who did this shameful act. I felt this was my duty to my late friend Prem Chand that I make it clear to the world that we condemn this act of intolerance and narrow mindedness. But a lot of my other colleagues have since objected to my speaking out, believing that my saying this and this news spreading in media would add to hurt of Prem’s family, and in a way they are right too. I would like you all to also keep this in mind as well…

This was probably not an official act or some state sponsored standard procedure. It is much more likely that this was an act of some sick minded individual. But it is still important for the authorities to investigate and punish those responsible, and set an example for future. Intolerance must not be tolerated. To tolerate it, or justify it, is to accept it. The authorities need to take responsibility for this incident and why it happened at all; no matter who did it. After all, it is the state of Pakistan – and we as a society – which creates the conditions in which the persecution of minorities thrives at various levels, directly and indirectly; and that is what gives individuals license to go even further – including such shameful acts.

Author’s Note: My deepest apologies to friends and family members of Prem Chand and my fellow Pakistanis from others faiths (Pakistani Hindus in particular), specially those who may not have heard of this yet and for whom this incident will no doubt be deeply painful. But we must raise our voice and condemn such acts. The one lesson that Pakistan’s history teaches us is that discrimination and intolerance must never be tolerated.

Pakistan does not deserve David Cameron's insults

by Con Coughlin Con Coughlin, the Telegraph's executive foreign editor, is a world-renowned expert on the Middle East and Islamic terrorism. He is the author of several critically acclaimed books. His new book, Khomeini's Ghost, is published by Macmillan.   By Con Coughlin World Last updated: July 29th, 2010 An army helicopter overflies Pakistani soldiers in the upper Swat Valley last year (Photo: AP) What is this? Open season on Pakistan? Ok, so the Pakistanis can be immensely frustrating to deal with, and have not always, as the recent Wikileaks documents have shown, been the most reliable of allies. But that was then, when the country languished under the dictatorship of General Pervez Musharraf, who was reluctant to act against the Taliban. But following the country’s return to democracy, Pakistan has become a valued and effective ally in the war on terror, and has suffered immeasurably more casualties than Nato as its military has gone head-to-head with the Taliban in the lawless tribal territory to the north of the country. For this reason David Cameron should be praising Pakistan’s contribution, rather than castigating Islamabad as he has done during his visit to neighbouring India. Mr Cameron might revel in his “Cameron direct” approach, but he risks alienating a great many of this country’s important allies unless he learns to balance his plain speaking with some good old-fashioned common sense. It is a long time since a serving British prime minister has managed to cause two major diplomatic incidents during an overseas jaunt, but Mr Cameron has managed precisely that during this week’s visit to Turkey and India. His comment about the Gaza “prison” provoked an outraged response from the Israeli Embassy in London, while his patronising treatment of Pakistan has now elicited a similar response from the Pakistani High Commission. No doubt Mr Cameron and his advisors think that this policy will pay dividends because, at the very least, it is generating lots of headlines and helping to raise Mr Cameron’s international profile. But at what price? This country’s overwhelming national security issue to resolve the Afghan conflict, and I fail to see how our prospects in the war will be improved by causing serious offence to one of our major allies in the war.

Sad Commentary!

FAKE DEGREES

by Pervez Hoodbhoy

Sunday, 25 July, 2010

Currently on a short visit to the University of Maryland, I am taking this opportunity to inform readers about the impression created overseas by the fake degree scandal in Pakistan. Major newspapers here, including the New York Times, have carried stories of the scores of counterfeit degrees possessed by Pakistani parliamentarians. The US media has underscored the unwillingness of the government and society to punish this scandalous behavior. Also reported is that the Sindh government has attempted to intimidate and threaten the chairman of the Higher Education Commission, who had been charged with verifying the degrees.

With outright cheaters and crooks sitting in parliament under government protection, it is no surprise that most people here - Pakistanis, Americans, and Indians - feel that Pakistan is headed nowhere. Expatriate Pakistanis, who live in a society that places a premium on personal honesty, are hanging their heads in shame. They have no explanation for why their country has fallen so low. If a state cannot enforce even minimal ethical rules, and if it can live in equanimity with corruption that is starkly visible, then it rightly deserves to be called a failed state. No foreigner is going to think of Pakistan as anything other than a Somalia or Nigeria, lawless and corrupt nations with which we seem to be competing with.

Fortunately, there do seem to be people of conscience in Pakistan who will not let the scandal die and the country sink yet further. It is also fortunate that the HEC, with which I have had strong differences in the past, is apparently holding up against political pressures. One wishes that these forces for good could prevail. I am sad, however, to see some well-respected columnists argue that the fake degree issue is being used to derail democracy and prepare the ground for army rule. This is a specious argument that, carried to its logical conclusion, will allow the grossest and ugliest of crimes to go unpunished.

ELECTRICITY GAME BY OUR LEADERS IN PAKISTAN

Taken from Source

Dear Pakistani's Read & Think!!!!! Dear Pakistanis! Read, Think & understand the game International Powers are playing with us with the help of! Electricity produced in Pakistan is from three main sources. 1). Hydral 2). Thermal (Gas/Steam/Furnace Oil) 3). Nuclear There are four major power producers in country which include Water & Power Development Authority (WAPDA), Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC), Independent Power Producers (IPPs) and Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC). Below is the break-up of the installed capacity of each of these power producers (as of June-2008). 1. WAPDA a. WAPDA Hydal Terbela                                                            3478  MW      Mangla                                                             1000  MW      Ghazi-Brotha                                                     1450  MW        Warsak                                                              243  MW      Chashma                                                            184  MW      Dargai                                                                  20  MW      Rasul                                                                    22  MW      Shadi-Waal                                                           18  MW      NandiPur                                                               14  MW      Kurram Garhi                                                           4  MW      Renala                                                                    1  MW      Chitral                                                                     1  MW   Jagran (AK)                                                            30  MW Total Hydal                                        ==>       6461 MW b. WAPDA Thermal    Gas Turbine Power Station, Shadra                             59  MW    Steam Power Station, Faisalabad                              132  MW      Gas Turbine Power Station, Faisalabad                      244  MW      Gas Power Station, Multan                                        195  MW      Thermal Power Station, Muzaffargarh                      1350  MW      Thermal Power Station, Guddu          1655  MW      Gas Turbine Power Station, Kotri                               174  MW      Thermal Power Station, Jamshoro                             850  MW      Thermal Power Station, Larkana                                150  MW      Thermal Power Station, Quetta                                   35  MW        Gas Turbine Power Station, Panjgur                            39  MW   Thermal Power Station, Pasni                                     17  MW Total Thermal                                     ==>        4811  MW WAPDA's Total Hydal + Thermal capacity is  ==>      11272 MW. 2. Karachi Electric Supply Company    Thermal Power Station, Korengi                               316  MW      Gas Turbine Power Station, Korengi                            80  MW      Gas Turbine Power Station, SITE                              100  MW   Thermal Power Station, Bin Qasim                          1260  MW Total (KESC)                                        ==>      1756  MW 3. Independent Power Producers (IPPs) Hub Power Project                                                     1292 MW   AES Lalpir Ltd, Mahmood Kot MuzaffarGarh                    362 MW   AES Pak Gen, Mahmood Kot MuzaffarGarh                      365 MW   Altern Energy Ltd, Attock                                                 29 MW   Fauji KabirWala Power Company, Khanewal                    157 MW   Gul Ahmad Energy Ltd, Korengi                                      136 MW   Habibullah Coastal Power Ltd                                         140 MW   Japan Power Generation, Lahore                                    120 MW   Koh-e-Noor Energy Ltd, Lahore                                       131 MW   Liberty Power Limited, Ghotki                                         232 MW   Rousch Power, Khaniwal                                                412 MW     Saba Power Company, Sheikhpura                                 114 MW Southern Electric Power Company Ltd, Raiwind                135 MW   Tapal Energy Limited, Karachi                                        126 MW   Uch Power Ltd, Dera Murad Jamali, Nasirabad                 586 MW   Attock Gen Ltd, Morgah Rawalpindi                                 165 MW   Atlas Power, Sheikhpura                                                225 MW Engro Energy Ltd, Karachi                                            ----- MW   Kot Addu Power Company Limited (Privitized)                1638 MW Total  (IPPs)                                              ===>   6365 MW 4. Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission KANUPP                                                                     137  MW   CHASNUPP-1                                                              325  MW Total (Nuclear)                                          ===>   462  MW Hydal Electricity generated by WAPDA varies between two extremities i.e. between minimum of 2414 MW and maximum of 6761 MW depending upon the river flow through the whole year. Total Power Generation Capacity of Pakistan (including all sources) is 19855 MW and the electricity demand (as of today 20-04-2010) is 14500 MW and PEPCO is merely generating 10000 MW. So it is obvious that these 15-20 hrs power shutdowns in most parts of the country are not because of the lack of generation capacity but only because of IMF / World Bank policies imposed on our nation by Govt. The Power Generation companies are not buying Furnace Oil from PSO by saying they don’t have money to do that but we are all paying for Electricity that is generated from Furnace Oil. This is the reason that top refineries like PRL are operating at 40% capacities. IMF / World bank has imposed to reduce budget deficit by importing less crude oil. But due to this fact all our industries are under severe crisis. None of our political party who are in Assembly is ready to speak on it because every one is blessed by US / IMF / World Bank. Dear Pakistani’s, This is a time to show your social activism your power and strength. It is your silence which is deafening and your couldn’t care less attitude which makes the people in power more powerful evasive and secure in their Air conditioned offices. PLEASE STAND UP AND BE COUNTED:  Please don't stop this e-mail and forward it to as many people as possible. Thanks WE WANT ELECTRICITY IN PAKISTAN. Electricity now is @11 Rs. per unit, and it will increase after every two months as directed by (American) IMF policies. Also CHINA offers to Pakistan Electricity for just Rs.200 Monthly Bill and Unlimited Usage of Electricity but our government is not taking the offer seriously. This is because there will be neither kick backs nor any commissions to be pocketed by the strong mafia of politicians and bureaucrats. These people are there because of your votes. Let them serve you rather than rule you…… NOW THIS IS OUR TIME TO SHOW THE GOVERNMENT YOUR STRENGTH. PLEASE SPREAD THIS MESSAGE AS MUCH AS YOU CAN, BECAUSE OF THIS MESSAGE MANY PEOPLE WOULD COME TO KNOW ABOUT THE TRUTH

To everyone that uses the road

Hello everybody,

Yesterday the 5th of july a youngster in a 7 series BMW almost killed himself and me in my car! I tried to pull him over to put some sense in his head, but he would not budge, to cut a long story short I finally got him in a spot where he had no choice but to stop and listen, he was young under 18 I suspect had no license on him, said it was at home, said his father is Sardar Asif (??!!)

But I read him the riot act he  could only keep repeating the word sorry! I made him listen to what he had not been taught at home, that his life and those other road users lives were very valuable and that it was because of individuals like him that people died or were maimed each day of the year on our roads! Please make sure you do not neglect your responsibility to your children, your fellow road users and to yourself.

Yu know what each of us MUST do to put things right and the hard work starts at home.

This needs to be watched by everyone who has the keys to a vehicle ....and to young people BEFORE they get their drivers
license. This is perhaps one of the most INTENSE commercials that I've ever seen and well made.
I think Australia should be complemented on having the guts to "tell it like it is" and get this campaign out to
all of its licensed drivers and to air it on TV...it is very moving and very life like…it has a very strong impact.
Not easy to watch...but necessary to watch.

Just press on the DUI !!! link below
DUI !!!
Thanks ,

Citizen's Speak: Confrontation by Hamza Shafqaat

For the past decade, I have felt like a helpless spectator watching my country slowly begin to disintegrate. As much as those around me try to ignore the reality of Pakistan’s current environment, I refuse to conform to the unethical practices that run rampant in this country. Hypocrisy and lies know absolutely no limits, whether in the alley behind my house or in the corridors of power. The truth is that Pakistan is more divided than ever, and this time it is an entirely different game.

It’s easy to be misled by the rhetoric presented on the mainstream media, and on the pages of newspapers. Headlines scream chaos, while the man on the street yearns for closure. Two years have passed since the present government took charge, and Pakistanis are beginning to wonder if they placed their thumbs on the right symbol. Pakistan has been fighting the war on terrorism for almost a decade now, and from the very first day President Musharraf stated that this was Pakistan’s war. Unfortunately, that realization has only begun to creep in recently. It took the cries of a young woman being helplessly tortured for Pakistanis to change and wake up. Even then, our success is limited. Dear reader, allow me to be blunt: We have not won this war. In fact, the most crucial aspect of the war is just starting. As the residents of Swat return to their homes, the real test starts. Will the Taliban regain control of the area? If they do, then what is the next step for the government? Another war? Or will they wait once again, for the cries of a helpless woman? I fear the brutality on both sides will be far worse this time around.

Pakistanis are conflicted and torn between two ideas. They want their country to prosper, but wonder if highways and housing colonies built only in cities such as Lahore is prosperity, since those in rural areas suffer from more than 12 hours of load shedding each day.

They try to convince themselves, as have I, that this crisis like all others will soon pass. We try to desperately convince ourselves that there lies a better future ahead, that we are leaving to posterity a sound and vibrant nation.

But as the events unfold, we find ourselves increasingly at odds with our dreams and the reality.
The public is yearning for a messiah, and their choices reveal their desperation. Take, for example, Zaid Hamid. On the surface he seems to be a patriotic, albeit emotional, Pakistani, but listen to his lectures and you will find them laced with hate and discrimination towards other ideologies and other religions. Even though his speeches are prejudiced one wonders why Pakistanis are so quick to assume that since he discriminates against other religions and despises India, he’s on the pay-roll of intelligence agencies?

Before him, they had turned to our beloved cricket hero and philanthropist Imran Khan, chairman of the Tehreek I Insaaf. He mustered up support among young students and received an encouraging response from all over the country. However, his failure to condemn the Taliban proved to be his down-fall. Even as his faithful party workers scrambled to salvage their reputation through ‘clarifications’ it was too late. The operation was about to end, and Imran Khan was still un-decided.

Let us not be fooled by recent campaigns to promote Indo-Pak unity. We have fought three wars since Partition, and are fighting a proxy war constantly. Siachen has been our battleground for decades, and too much blood has been shed to forget the atrocities committed by both sides. If one still believes that friendship between Indians and Pakistanis is possible, then that person need look no further than the Shoaib Malik and Sania Mirza fiasco. If we look at it dispassionately then this is a prime case for the thawing of relations between the two countries.

A Pakistani cricket hero marrying an Indian sport heroine is stuff written about in fairy tales. We should be celebrating this incredibly bold step that the couple is willing take, but instead we encroach upon their personal lives, and strive to catch a glimpse of them closing a door, or talking on the phone. The media has been uncaged and they are attacking Shoaib Malik ferociously. The domestic dispute between Shoaib Malik and Ayesha Siddiqui is just that: A domestic dispute between Shoaib Malik and Ayesha Siddiqui. As long as his dispute does not affect his performance on the playing field while he represents Pakistan, who are we to judge?

On December 2 4th 1940, Quaid E Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah stated:

‘The prosperity and advancement of a nation depends upon its intelligentsia…’ The threats before us are limitless. There are some institutions of Pakistan that no longer govern by the consent of the governed. As citizens of society we must not support a government that suppresses any faith, nor should we support any individual who sanctions the taking of an innocent life. As responsible citizens of Pakistan there lies upon us a heavy duty. We owe our allegiance to the Pakistani flag, and we owe our lives to those who sacrificed theirs for our future. Let us together refuse to acquiesce to tyranny. Let us be indolent no longer. Being a Muslim alone isn’t enough to grant you an identity but being a Pakistani does. Let us vow to uphold the ideals and principles upon which every great citizen of Pakistan stands: That of hard work, honesty and equality. Let us be each other’s strength and not weakness. Let us stand together not as Muslims but as concerned Pakistanis. God willing, we shall prosper.

A pledge to unite

— Ayesha Sohail, DAWN Young World

Saturday, 20 Mar, 2010

On the morning of March 23 — Pakistan Resolution Day — it’s important to think about who we are and what we want to be. We should think about the whole journey before March 23, 1940, and after that till August 14, 1947, during which our freedom fighters suffered a lot and gave many sacrifices to get a free homeland.

But today, March 23rd — the day when our brave fighters reached an important milestone in the journey of their struggle — is of no importance for the present day young generation. It is just another holiday for them. It is shameful to acknowledge that today we have lost our identity and culture — in fact we feel ashamed in accepting who we are — and we proudly follow other cultures and traditions. We, instead of following the footprints of our forefathers, are ruining the image of our homeland which was obtained after lots of sacrifices.

Pakistan Day reminds us of the fact that all Muslims are equal and they can’t be discriminated due to any factor such as race, colour and ethnicity. But today we are Sindhis, Punjabis, Balochis, Pathans, Muhajirs; today we are the elite class, middle and lower class; today we are Karachiites, Lahories and what not. We have lost that identity which was the founding stone for this country and have indulged in all sorts of discriminations.

God has made all of us equal and we are blessed with an independent homeland which, despite all internal and external threats, has been surviving for years so now is the time to get up and realise our responsibilities towards our country — let’s become united! Unity is the real strength and being united means being successful. If we remain divided on the basis of colour, language or socio-economic factors, we can never be a successful nation.

We have to become united for prosperity and a better future. We have to change the world we live in. As educated citizens of our country, we have to shape the future of Pakistan. Let us stop blaming each other and pledge that we will try to be better people by keeping aside our differences.

We have gained much — one of the best cricket teams in the world, one of the most profitable music industries in Asia and the strongest military power in the Muslim world. So on this 23rd March, be proud a Pakistani and discard all discriminating factors.

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

Pakistan Day special: Creative celebrations

By Saira Owais Adil
Saturday, 20 Mar, 2010 DAWN Young World

Monotonous, routine celebrations are held all over the country to mark the Pakistan Resolution Day on March 23. The schools, media and government organisations all follow strictly unchanged programmes. School children are dressed up in neat uniforms, polished shoes and appear tidy to perform on the same national songs as they have been doing for years.
March 23 is actually the day when the meaning of independence for the Muslims of the Subcontinent was clearly laid out to the world. Now after 70 years of the event, we, the young generation, today need our elders’ help in comprehending the ‘national’ thought that led to the whole process of independence! Children can only be expected to be ‘patriotic’ when they understand the meaning of ‘patriotism’.

Let’s make a different start this time and instead of performing at the school half-heartedly or bunking the functions altogether, try to give your school authorities some exciting suggestions. Ask your school head or teacher to organise different activities with the objective of creating a better understanding of the term “independence”.
Do something creative. Paint your own Pakistan – the way you think a perfect Pakistan would look like. Draw and paint what you like about your country and how you would like things to be. If you are better at words than the brush, write how you want things to be, portraying a ‘better Pakistan’ in your own way!
How about making a huge map of Pakistan for your class or to be displayed anywhere else in the school, and decorate it with smiles, colours and gestures of love – all that we are losing fast with each passing day.

And just mounting the national flag and placing the small flags on strings round the classroom is not enough. A flag drawing competition would be more exciting and full of fun. Rather than just painting and colouring the flag on a paper, you can try making it with different materials. Of course you can’t change its colour or design, just use various textures and materials, coloured green and white, to lend a beautiful touch to our national flag.

Instead of merely reciting the toughest of the national songs, request your teacher to make you understand what the poet is actually trying to say. In a casual set up, not that of the typical classroom teaching style, lectures given to make students become aware of the meaning of the different national songs, some information about the poet and the occasion when it was first written would go a long way in making everyone realise the significance of the words and remember it for a long time to come. By becoming aware of the true meaning of the words that are being sung, it will bring out feelings of national pride and patriotism and make any performance more powerful.

A competition of short poems and national songs can also be held where participants would have to write national songs or poems. This can also be done as a class exercise where everyone just pens down what is in their hearts about their beloved country.

Make posters, badges and cards in which you present your own idea of what being a citizen of a free nation means to you and share it with your friends and teachers. If you are going out somewhere with your friends or family to on this national holiday, order a combination of pistachio and vanilla flavours in ice cream. Now that’s a pretty patriotic combination!
This is our country and we all feel proud of it. So why not fuel up your passion and come up with imaginative ways to celebrate this day and pledge to do what we can to make it a better place to live.

Citizens Speak: Salute the Men and Women at Arms.

Some inspiring images found floating around facebook courtesy Mindworks Media and ISPR

http://www.mindworksmedia.org

Citizens Speak: Three Heroines of Pakistan

By Imran H Khan

http://imranhkhan.com/2010/02/27/three-heroines-of-pakistan/

Pakistan has been blessed with many amazing women whose stories have been largely untold. Shahla Haeri wrote about some of them involved in the social sphere in her book “No Shame for the Sun“. OPEN’s chapters have also held conferences and forums highlighting the role of Pakistani American women in the US. In the recent years three Pakistani women have defied all odds and achieved remarkable success in achieving some of the highest goals typically associated with men. These achievements are specially significant taking into account their economic and geographic origins.

Maria Toor: Pakistani Woman Squash champion from South Waziristan

Maria is the Pakistan Woman Squash champion and Seventy Second in the World. What is remarkable is that she comes from WANA South Waziristan, the home of Pakistani Taleban. Her parents are from a poor background and she did not even pick up a squash racket till the age of twelve. Her meteoric rise in squash is amazing as she has achieved this with little to no resources. In listening to her in the attached video you can get a sense of her passion for the game and the hurdles she had to overcome in order to get there. The other thing that struck me was her confidence in achieving pretty much what she put her mind to, including appearing in a Hollywood movie. With little to no education she has still found the time to learn English and appears comfortable in front of the camera.

Saira Amin: First female Sword of Honor Winner and Fighter Pilot from Peshawer. Saira not only graduated from one of the most rigorous air force academies in 2006, but also won the most coveted Sword of Honor. To achieve this you need to be the most outstanding cadet in all of the three areas of flying, academics and general military training. She belonged to only the second group of females to be inducted into the PAF. She had to outclass all her male colleagues in physically grueling training that included para jumping.

She has established that in a extremely male dominated domain of jet fighter pilots of one of the most demanding of air forces, a female can not only participate but even dominate.

The video below shows female fighter pilots converting into flying fighters of PAF.

Naseem Akhter: Fastest Woman in South Asia from Korangi.

Naseem Akhter caught the fancy of all of Pakistan when she beat Pramila Priyadarshan, the Sri Lankan favorite to win the gold medal in South Asian games in 2010. She hails from a poor family from Korangi area of Karachi. Her dedication to achieve her goal was captured in her statement that she gave after the event.

“I had forgotten the world for six months and trained really very, very hard under my coach Maqsood Ahmed to achieve this. It is a great moment for me to have brought glory to the country in my event.”

To grasp the real significance of her story you have to watch the video below and see and hear the pride of her family.

What really struck me in the photo below is that she was wearing loose clothes and yet was only a second and half behind the fastest woman on the planet, Florence Griffith-Joyner. I can only wonder that with some training and more streamlined clothes what she can possibly achieve.

The theme that runs common in all the three stories is that none of these ladies let any excuse come between them and their goals. They managed the challenges with a supportive family structure. They exhibit all the same qualities that are needed to be a successful entrepreneur. They had to raise money, market their talents, fight the naysayers and excel in what they did with single minded focus.

To all these women, “Afreen” .

PIA announces new baggage requirements for USA

KARACHI: PIA has informed its passengers about the enhanced screening procedure for passengers traveling from USA to Pakistan implemented by Transport Security Administration (TSA) at JFK Airport in New York.

A PIA spokesman said that TSA has notified PIA about enhanced screening of Pakistani Passport Holders traveling from USA that the baggage of such passengers would go through a CTX machine, a x-ray machine for luggage that detect other unidentifiable objects as well, and the selected searches of passengers.

As of now, passengers are required to show a U.S Federal or State issued photo ID that contains Name, date of birth, gender, expiration date of ID and a tamper resistant feature in order to be allowed to go through the check point and onto their flight.

If a Pakistani passport is produced, the passenger, irrespective of age and gender will have to undergo selected screening.

He said often passengers carry baggage of different/ varying sizes which could not passed through the CTX scanning machines, resulting in manual checking of baggage by the authorities.

As the screening process consumes time, long queues are formed at the JFK airport.

PIA passengers were requested to carry baggage of the specified size/dimension with maximum length 39 inches, maximum height 19 inches, maximum width 25 inches and weight not exceeding 110 Lbs.

 

Any oversize baggage or carton will not be accepted by the airline i.e. PIA.

Passengers are advised further to reach JFK airport at least five hours prior to flight departure time as PIA check in counters will close 1 hour and 15 minutes before flight departure in order to maintain on time departures.

As a precautionary measure, PIA passengers traveling from Pakistan to USA are also requested to follow the new baggage instructions as same baggage rules would be applicable on their return journey. – APP

What has happened to us as decent human beings?!

Stand up for this champion!

He is "Naveed Asif" from Nahranwali village Okara who scored 919 marks in Matric and got second position in BISE Lahore. His school was 7 KM away from his house and he used to walk 7 KM everyday to go to his school. here are his words :
“Me and my mother were really terrified when BISE Lahore team reached our home late at night before announcement of the result. Actually a few days ago, our cow was stolen at night owing to which we were terrified”.
“You may think it ridiculous but I always said to my mother that I wanted to be like Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah,” he said. “Quaid-e-Azam is a role model for me"
He seated at stairs after receiving his medal and later Mr. Shahbaz Sharif offered his seat to him.

He couldn’t find any seat in Alhamra hall to sit in a function which was arranged to honour “position holders”

Frankly, The Govt. record on developing talent to grow into leaders of tomorrow is pretty dismal, their track record in general is pathetic, we are too conditioned and brainwashed over the last 100 years to be in a position to recognise our own God given intellect and ability. It is in ourselves that we are underlings; we must cleanse our system of all alien thought and bring about a reformation of our own cultures, Balochi, Pushtun, Sindhi and Punjabi because we want to live together as one Country and pursue our inherited greatness, which will be exploited by our education system to develop our Tomorrows and our Motherland we MUST read more on our past but search for the truth because it has been altered by the occupiers of our land for the past 3 centuries from the Mughals to the Europeans.! KoolBlue

ENJOY THE COFFEE

Don't let the cups drive you... Enjoy the coffee instead.

A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life.
Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite - telling them to help themselves to hot coffee.

When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said: "If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is but normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups and were eyeing each other's cups.

Now if life is coffee, then the jobs, money and position in society are the cups.
They are just tools to hold and contain Life, but the quality of Life doesn't change. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee in it.

Don't let the cups drive you... Enjoy the coffee instead

Writer's Block - Too many, too much- by Bushra Hassan

Recently I had the good fortune of staying at the PC Bhurban Hotel with my little family. I say good fortune because I always thought it to be one of those high priced places which we would never be able to afford. However, there I was, one busy weekend, spending a cozy holiday in the hills. Now I knew it would be crowded over there and I hate crowds. I hate going to markets, I avoid Sales like the plague, simply to avoid crowds. Mostly our holidays are based in small cottage-type hotels or relatively cheaper and less popular local places so we can have privacy and space. Here, in Bhurban, I was warned that it would not be the case, and how true that was!!
Hordes of people; and up to 4-6 children, per couple. Yes! I’m not kidding. We actually counted. These are the affluent people of this country, who produce children like I produce blog updates…. Quick, random and with scary regularity. So here we were, our family of three, fighting for life at the breakfast buffets as fat mummies regularly elbowed my husband out of the way, children crazily gluttonned to their hearts content, and the daddies walked around with the arrogance that even Hashwani wouldn’t show. At first I was appalled, later scared.

You see, it’s not the lack of manners, or tarbiyat the scares me. It’s not that these people look you up and down as if you are trespassing, or that they treat hotel employees like 19th century Texan slaves; it is not that the kids run rampant in hallways at midnight; or that the husbands rarely talk to their wives, help with the kids or even smile. It is just the twenty years from now these kids will be soul of Pakistan.

Not just that they are 4-5 kids per family. In two decades, they are all going to marry and reproduce and perhaps produce as many off springs. Where will we find space and resources to build them houses, give them clean water, sanitation? How many more trees will be cut down? Will our ill managed agricultural land produce enough grain for them? Will our exports reduce and imports increased? Will we fall deeper into debt? Do we have enough schools to educate and not simply train these kids? Will we have enough jobs for them? What will happen when they all have families and no jobs? What happens when the kids with a sense of superiority, lack of discipline or respect for all those around them, grow up and get disappointed? Angry? Frustrated? Out on the streets?

"You see, it’s not the lack of manners, or tarbiyat the scares me. It’s not that these people look you up and down as if you are trespassing, or that they treat hotel employees like 19th century Texan slaves; it is not that the kids run rampant in hallways at midnight; or that the husbands rarely talk to their wives, help with the kids or even smile. It is just the twenty years from now these kids will be soul of
Pakistan."

I usually write positive blogs. I try. I see a positive light in everything, but in this era of economic recession, climate change and wars, we are producing children that we do not know how to raise. The boys learn from the fathers to not help or respect women; women learn from their mothers to not respect other women, and lust after men. The basic structure of family is fragile and unhappy.

I will probably go and stay in Bhurban again. A mother of an asthmatic child, I need a centrally heated hotel in winters. Plus, I was impressed by the patience of the overwhelmed staff and the services of the hotel, but then I also saw a bit of Pakistan and that scares me.

I wish people had less children. I wish people knew how to be a couple before they became parents. I wish we knew the art of parenting. I wish our concept of purdah was not cover your head and stay indoors, but as my beloved Ghamidi put it, simple social etiquette.

I am worried for my rather well behaved child who at less than three can wait for her turn, can understand the difference between right and wrong… and then choose right, who says please and thank you, smiles at strangers, has a thirst for knowledge and mostly, is comfortable enough in her own skin to not judge others. How will she compare to the jungle that is becoming this nation? When she interacts with them, will she not be influenced? I wish the whole country was like my three year old is today. Mostly, I pray my country can sustain all the illiterate or ill brought up mass that is upon it… and that keeps growing.

I can only pray and vow not to be like the rest of them.

May Allah help us all.
Photo courtesy: http://www.panric.com/pakistans-public-train-system/