Not so Great Expectations!

When will life return to normal? Terrorism and now floods.

The best thing about the interaction I had over the last weekend with ladies and gentlemen from quite a few nationalities was that they had all gathered to discuss ideas in the light of different researches they had been part of or had come across some related work.

Over waffles, Norwegian cheese and iced tea, Dr.Robert Nichols, Professor of History at Stockton College, New Jersey USA, spoke about Swat and Models of the renowned Norwegian anthropologist Professor Fredrik Barth.

Professor Nichols does agree with the point of view that many have been impressing upon here at home as well. Moving forward in Swat according to him is only possible when the governments in the region are considered legitimate by the very people they are supposed to rule.

With images of women flogged by Taliban and reports of militants having reached as close as Buner,he feels that the way people of Pakistan asked for a full fledged military operation in Swat was unique in the history of the country.

Because, they say that opportunity never perches twice it is really important that the authorities in Pakistan realise that the time is ripe to answer big question on everyone’s lips not by mere words but real action.

It is not going to help letting people continue to see the damage all around them in the form of destroyed schools and infrastructure, simply meant to disrupt their normal way of life. When would people in Swat be actually able to see a hearing taking place in the court? Laws on paper are of no use if their implementation is no where to be seen.

The professor went on to highlight another feature of society here in the country. Youth of the country has expectations from their government. When they get a modern education, which many of them do manage to acquire, they need a future ahead of them, the first step to which could be a job. Modern societies are required to provide their own future with that opportunity.

So, I left the newly rebuilt Islamabad Marriott with a belief that with the right kind of support from the international community, both financial and moral (by reposing trust in Pakistan) logical conclusions to all the operations that were begun with an aspiration of peace and prosperity can be achieved. We must act now.

Till Death Do Us Apart

Helicopters hovering over the crash site. Helis arrived very late to aid rescuers on the ground

What can you say about a couple who dies in a plane crash just after 5 days of making a promise to each other of living side by side for the rest of their lives. Do you have any words to describe the terrorising agony of a man who could not get on the same plane as his wife and two kids and instead reached their destination before them only to find they would never be able to join him again-neither in Islamabad nor anywhere else in this world.

Bad weather or pilot error -but the picturesque Margallah Hills did become the sight of the deadliest plane crash in Pakistan's Aviation history when Air Blue flight ED202 slammed into the hills that overlook Islamabad.This is the first airplane of any private carrier in Pakistan's history.

Bad weather plus difficult terrain- Rescue work was a huge challenge

Federal Interior Minister has confirmed there are no survivors . All 152 embraced death. A day of mourning tomorrow will register formally the pain , shock and disbelief of not only the families of those who died but also the entire nation.

Everyone eagerly awaits the results of the initial investigation into the cause of the tragedy in the light of last converstaion recorded between the pilot and the control tower. This according to the DG CAA would take atleast 10 days. Till ,the big question arises if the air line that holds responsibility for making the decision to fly, should've allowed the Air Bus A321 to take off from Karachi for Islamabad which was as it is normally during monsoon, in the grip of mist and low clouds. Gripping scenes

Probably the fate of the 152 on board flew them to their death but important lessons would be learnt regarding controlling air traffic and making crucial decisions that could save or take precious lives.

Time will heal these wounds

Lahori Rains

With no deadline for downpours to halt in Lahore, here is a look at what the people are going through....... Bread and butter at stake!

Bathing with no effort at all

The Guy in yellow is a true saviour

Who's my master?

Honeymooners!

Crossing the Ravi?

Your drink on ice?

Get disciplined

Go Get It!

This trophy is actually made of solid gold! Presenting Moving Images segment on the Morning Show.

Photo courtesy Qasim Javed

In addition to the relatively cleaner air and quiet roads of Lahore, interviewing one guest every morning on The Morning Show on Express 24/7 is included in my routine these days.

It takes a minute or so before the guests that appear on the programme have warmed up enough to talk in the chilly studios of the show. Take for example Prof Sajad Razaq-a mind power expert and neurolinguist.

Because I have a friend who is into mind sciences a great deal so I did have a background on the issue. But frankly, the mind sciences funda is quite common sensical! It simply revolves around using one’s brain to the maximum and in the workshops that Prof Sajad and some others like him conduct around the country; they tell you techniques to master that. I mean, you don’t need the IQ of Madonna to practice mind sciences!!

Actually at the heart of all of these techniques is faith. Having faith and confidence in ones own self is the key to self actualization. Overcoming the fear of failure is what helps us achieve our goals. Set realistic targets and then break up the way leading to your goal into small steps. But to start with you must have a goal.

And while you are at it, do not think that you wouldn’t fail because as JK Rowling said in her commencement speech at Harvard

“Some failure in life is inevitable. It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all – in which case, you fail by default.”

But remember new life is created by new thoughts. Just keep it positive- after all its all in the head.

Let me practice one mind empowering technique of counting backwards from 50. You can do it, too!!

Waka Waka Spain!

Spanish Goal keeper receiving a kiss from his tv journalist girlfrien after the match

So, Spain won against Paraguay in a quarter final that began as dull and drab and ended up quite remarkably. I want Spain to win the World Cup!! Reason? One can easily get away with not having reasons for anything being a favourite….I mean this has been such an upsetting World Cup. Ghana, Argentina and even Brazil….talk about technique based pre tournament predictions.
I mean how many times we haven’t seen cricket analysts’ analysis proving to be like the weather updates from the MET office.

But yes I do have a sympathetic shadow in my heart for Spain because, they have never gone beyond the semi finals in World Cup history…and then they are the European Champions so why not world champs??

It is quite useless to evaluate teams on the basis of technique too. Any thing can happen in cricket ditto foot ball . It is speculative business and I don’t blame people who like to gamble over sport… not that I mean there is nothing wrong with gambling but you know what I mean.

No point in prolonging the non sense, I will just leave you with what the Paraguay’s football coach said before the match between his team and Spain.
Gerardo Martino-Paraguay Coach
Gerardo Martino said:

“But you see in this kind of tournament, it's not just who plays better, but who has the heart, who has the stamina, the wish, who has the fighting spirit and it can come down to one scoring opportunity."

Hence, Waka Waka Spain!!

Spanish team memebers celebrating the Goal moment. They beat Paraguay 1-0 in the qaurter final.

Guess Who?

Reaching out for peace at the Data Sahib

Surfing news channels upon returning from a Sunday at work I came across breaking news of Police raiding hideouts of suspected terrorists around Darbar market in the vicinity of the Data Darbar.Remember Data Darbar was attacked by suicide bombers on July 1 killing more than 40 and injuring atleast double this number.

Data Darbar is a very popular 11th century sufi shrine and sufism is seen as a moderate interpretation of Islam as opposed to the sect that Taliban are believed to follow. Eversince this attack there has been a tremendous amount of anger and grief-Just Lahore observing three days of mourning that included market closures and protests led by religious and political sentiment. Thats another thing that the city's restaurants continued to cater to many showing up in their best attire. Punjab government was widely and loudly criticised by political figures.

Take the example of Pakistan Tehrik e Insaaf Chairman Imran Khan who said that whenever Nawaz Sharif of PML-N goes abroad theres trouble here at home. Sherry Rehman of PPP and ex Information Minister named the Punjabi Taliban to be behind the attack on Data Sahib.

It is confusing why the attack on Data Sahib has invited so much wrath only on the Punjab government because this is not the first time that a religious place has come under attack in Lahore or the country for that matter.There have been around 22 major attacks on mosques and other Islamic institutions since December 2007. So, to my surprise this time , its the Punjab Government that is being blamed for what happened. I wonder how everyone forgot about the external elements and Indian hand that were always named after every security failure?

The dangerous part is that this being interpreted as an attack on the moderate muslims in Pakistan carried out by extreme followers of Islam and so is being given a bright hue of sectarianism. The sad attack on Data Darbar should not be separated from the terrorism that the country faces as a whole.

Police with its raids might win some praise that could silence its critics for the time being . But security in the city does need to be more meaningful. Vehicles were being stopped on checkposts yesterday and I happened to be in a rickshaw making my way back from a posh neighbourhood. While the glistening cars were allowed to pass unchecked, my rickshaw was stopped and I was briefly questioned. No problem with that but when I was asked to produce my ID and it turned out to be a press tv one, I was let go. No scrutiny of my bag or any body search. So i was left wondering why was I halted in the first place?

So much for tightening security. Its just suffocating.Meantime, your guess is as good as mine as to who is behind this condemnable attack.