Proud Pakistani

There's been so much going on with Pakistan these days, that I completely forgot about my own blog!
/* Again*/

Mushy is back to his usual tactics, but finally there is somewhat of a resistance. Working with Dr Awab and other Proud Pakistanis at www.proud-pakistani.com to protest (peacefully) against the mockery of justice in Pakistan, our petition currently has over 1000 signatures.

Bob Woolmer was murdered, we got knocked out of the WC 2007. RIP Bob, and no other words on this subject.

I've been busy reading all the new blogs from Pakistan that keep popping up everyday and they are all amazing.

Also picked up 'The Reluctant Fundamentalist' by Mohsin Hamid today. The first 3 chapters are amazing. More details to come shortly( given my posting frequency, i wouldn't hold my breath if I were you......)


Off,

In the line of Fire

Wikipedia now has a detailed review on Pervez Musharraf 's book "In the line of Fire", highlighting common criticism and a brief synopsis of the book.

What surprises me the most, is that I've often come across fellow Pakistanis who can argue for a half an hour during coffee table discussions, and then sheepishly admit that they haven't read the book yet and their facts are nothing but hearsay.

For those of my braderi, read the synopsis please

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_the_Line_of_Fire:_A_Memoir


Here are my initial thoughts after reading the book
- "Hooray , Musharraf is here..and as long as he doesn't get assassinated..Pakistan is on the road to prosperity"

After some thought, here what I think the writer is trying to tell us
- "Mushy is superman, and don't worry..what looks like bad right now is going to be a-ok in the future"


Its definitely something that everyone should read, as it might go against a lot of what you learned about Pakistan's history at school.


Reviews:
K.O has a review here
and behanjee has another one here

Economist : Special Report on Pakistan

The economist published a 10-page special report on Pakistan recently.

I've held the economist in a league of less biased publications, but was rather depressed to see the picture painted by the authors.

Its mostly true from their perspective, but Jawwad Farid has a nice commentary here thats looks at things from a Pakistani's point of view.

DesibacktoDesh a good blog to bookmark, url is here

http://www.alchemya.com/blog/index.html


In other news, I'm still getting married and will be in Karachi soon Insh'Allah.

Mohammad Ali Jinnah

"Few individuals significantly alter the course of history. Fewer still modify the map of the world. Hardly anyone can be credited with creating a nation-state. Mohammad Ali Jinnah did all three."

-Stanley Wolpert in his book "Jinnah of Pakistan"


A must read for anyone interested in Pakistan and its origins. It's amazing to see how little we know about such a great man.

Karachi Beach!!!

In a recent article entitled "The battering of our beaches", Cowasjee documented the sad state of our beaches. Without hard and fast intervention, seems like the situation is going from bad to worse!
Here are some points from his article, I had no idea about:

"The city’s population is increasing by 500,000 a year. We need all our beaches to cater for increased recreational needs...Public access to the beach is integral to democracy and equality. Karachi is almost destitute of parks and playgrounds and open spaces. It has fewer acres of such spaces per 1,000 residents as compared to any major city in the developed world.

The city government has built two parallel parapets which hide the sea from public view. Parapets are normally hip-high as were the parapets built by Sir Jehangir Kothari in 1912, still standing for all to emulate. What our city government, obsessed with size, has built is head-high. Why? Could it be to enrich the brick makers and layers?

... And further folly from our MQM Minister for Ports & Shipping, Babar Ghauri. Whilst once in Jeddah on one of the many ‘official’ visits our ministers indulge in, he spotted a water jet spouting high into the air in front of the royal palaces. In search of glory, he ordered the Karachi Port Trust to have it replicated in Karachi’s sea, without bothering about how much it would cost to purchase, instal and operate.

Now to the real danger..."


I didn't want to post another HUGE article so I'm ending the cutting and pasting here. Expectedly, there is much more in his article that is worth reading. He touches on the bigger problems of the issue further on in his article, so if anyone is interested, here is where the article is!!!