Apparently, the Punjab government is considering spending more than Rs200 million of tax payers money on Mian Shahbaz Sharif’s security. The budgeted amount will be spend on obtaining high tech gadgets, sniff dogs, bla bla, so the provincial government could safeguard our ‘national’ asset.

What say you guys? I say if Mian shab doesn’t feel safe in the current environment then maybe he should let someone else take over his position. We are begging IMF for loan these days and so its mind boggling that provincial govt. is considering spending this hefty sum on security of one (or few) individuals. Common Mian shab, we know you are better than this!!!

Another evidence that we are living in strange times. Barack Hussain Obama has become the first American President who’s skin is not white. Obama made a clean sweep by taking 338 against McCain’s 159 electoral votes.

McCain conceded defeat and Obama delivered his acceptance speech. Whole world watched as the man spoke to a crowd of one million. It was almost mass hysteria, a very emotionally charged scene, people crying, having trouble finishing their sentences. It was indeed a moment that America should be proud about. It is something they can cherish.

Where else  can an immigrant family can rise to such riches… A true personification of “American Dream”. As I watched the speach, I was trying to find similarities and differences between Pakistan and America.

The way Obama Interacted with the crowed reminded me of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. Only one leader in know history of pakistan had such a charisma… Also I do see some sparks of such charisma in Lawyers Moment.

““If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer,”” Obama said.

Los Angles Times Reports

“Barack Obama, the son of a father from Kenya and a white mother from Kansas, was elected the nation’s 44th president Tuesday, breaking the ultimate racial barrier to become the first African American to claim the country’s highest office.

A nation founded by slave owners and seared by civil war and generations of racial strife delivered a smashing electoral college victory to the 47-year-old first-term senator from Illinois, who forged a broad, multiracial, multiethnic coalition. His victory was a leap in the march toward equality: When Obama was born, people with his skin color could not even vote in parts of America, and many were killed for trying.”

What This will mean for Pakistan

Obama winning election is not seen as good omen for Pakistan.  India being a bigger and better democracy, Democrats Govt. tend to have more inclination toward india.

It also means and end of what is called an American love affair with Pakistan. American Dollars that poured over the countries elite will stop. Pakistan might face sanctions of economic nature.

Theater of “War or Terror” will most likely to be shifted from Iraq and Afghanistan to Our North Western Province and some parts of Baluchistan.

Zardari might get a call from Obama in middle of night informing that US will pursue terrorists in setteled areas of Pakistan.

The Gujranwala Connection

Obama’s mother is reported to have lived in Pakistan for 5 years in Gujranwala.  Little is know about how Obama Spent his 3 weeks in pakistan when he visited her mother here.. May be he came to lahore too..

More here

Severe economic crunch; continuing political instability; rapidly deteriorating security situation; crisis after crisis and now, the nature does not seem to be forgiving of Pakistan’s plight as well. A powerful earthquake of 6.4 magnitude has stricken parts of Baluchistan province killing about 200 people and injuring thousands across the region according to GEO TV.

 Devastating after-effects - Image Source: BBC News

Rescue efforts have been initiated to save as many people trapped under the debris and landslides as possible with Pakistan Army taking the lead. Powerful aftershocks are being felt around Quetta, and the epicentre in Ziarat Valley, which also happens to be the most picturesque of all places in the province.

Epicentre of Baluchistan Earthquake - Source: BBC News

Please try to reach out to organizations planning or working to get some relief goods to the affected region. We’ll update you with any details that we can possibly collect on rescue efforts.

Further Updates: IMB, Pakistaniat

Nothing to cheer you up, I am afraid.
I got a comment on an older post of mine, where the commentator, while praising my writing style (!!) told me that it is cute that I have mentioned just great tragedies in such ‘by the way’ manner. I do not know about the writing style I possess, but I do know that frankly, folks, how else would one deal with what is going on around us?

Doing business in Lahore is getting harder by the second, thanks to the one hour light show (without lasers sadly). Only a few days back, I realized that all of our collective wealth has been reduced by a whopping thirty percent in a matter of 90 days! (thanks to the dipping ruppee). I have been seriously contemplating generating all my income from online sources, and have been asking people for help and advice. Yours will also be welcome.

Lahore comes to a stand still after every hour. Have any of you been talking to people? Take any industry. Take your freakin’ pick. Textile? The whole night shift, gone (that’s 30 percent productivity right there). How about agriculture? With Rs 950 per Mnd for wheat, we are still cheaper than everyone else i.e. watch how our wheat gets hoarded and smuggled to neighboring countries setting the stage for the mother of all food crises. How about exports? Rice is fetching the lowest expected rate in the market, why? Because the small and medium type shellers can’t work on one hour after every hour basis, that’s why! Count in the record-and-back-breaking inflation coupled with the previously mentioned light show, put some Zardari induced toppings for flavor and some mysterious policies that no one knows about for color and you have got yourself a headache in your stomach folks. This all may be cute in some way, but it is high time we did ’something’.

Protests are old fashioned it seems. The lawyers I know curse the lawyers movement for keeping their account books empty for over a year, yet the movement is the only protest that bore some fruit. Only to be quietly and quickly sidelined by our I-smile-at-you president and his party.

How about correcting one’s self, being in a position to stay on the right course while being given the opportunity to bribe, con or flex some political muscle? How about playing the cards right this time? How about paying those taxes? How about not bribing the buildings department’s bugger to let you keep the third story of your office plaza? Let him doze it down, it is alright, you deserve it. How about conserving your electricity rather than going ballistic on your electricity meter? Naah, it seems we as a collective society, deserve this. We deserve the Zardaris, the PPPs, the MQMs, Jamat-e-Islami’s and the Dark Knights of all flavors. I mean, look at us. More than 30 percent of our electricity is stolen every second of the passing day. Imagine even if half of those thieves had a conscious? We’d have 8 hours of load shedding in Lahore instead of the current 12 perhaps. The milk you drink is as corrupt as the magistrate taking 10 grand for a deal. The illegal scotch 90 percent of the media personal ’syphon’ out of hotels is as haraam as the maulvi telling you that only and only your sect is the right sect. The irrigation water you steal, the monthly you pay the WAPDA lineman to keep the meter ticking deathly slow, the wink you wink to the cop to make an arrangement for you, the line you jump because you can and the hatred you display whenever given a chance, this all leads up to this. Yes, this.

Welcome to our own doing. Settle in, grab some friggin’ cold popcorns, a warm coke and a fake smile, it seems to be a long show.

P.S. If it is any interest to you folks, do check out the latest review of Toyota Vitz at CarAdvice.pk.

According to a news post on the Helicopters Association International, Lahore’s Allama Iqbal International Airport has most recently installed the latest Runway Visual Range (RVR) system by Belfort Instrument Company for better visibility and safe aircraft landings during harsh weather conditions. All this makes landings in Lahore a bit more safer if you just exclude some other kind of ‘threats’ elsewhere in the city.

Apron at Allama Iqbal International Airport, Lahore

We seriously hope security situation in the country keeps improving so that airlines that had previous plans of starting operations to or from Lahore and other cities in Pakistan and those who have discontinued their operations after a turbulent year are made welcome here again.

Lahore, Sept 15 : Pakistan tops the list of countries as far as the number of deaths in suicide bombings during the first eight months of the year is concerned, figures compiled by an elite intelligence agency have said.

From January till August, there were in all 28 suicide attacks in Pakistan which claimed more than 471 people and injured around 713. Both the dead and the injured included a large number of innocent civilians as well as the armed forces personnel.

Iraq stood second with 463 people killed in 42 suicide attacks, while Afghanistan was third with 436 people killed in 36 suicide attacks. In Iraq, a total of 527 persons were injured, while in Afghanistan a totalof 394 people were injured, reported The News.

Iraq ranked first during 2007, experiencing over 150 attacks carried out by human bombs; Afghanistan stood second with more than 100 such attacks and Pakistan ranked third with 56 suicide hits. However, Pakistan had suffered more deaths than that of Afghanistan as a consequence of these suicide attacks.

Of the 471 people killed in suicide bombings across Pakistan in the first eight months of 2008, the number of the civilian casualties was 312. The number of the policemen killed in these attacks stood at 87, followed by 72 personnel of the security forces which have often been targeted in the aftermath of the bloody Operation Silence carried out against the fanatic clerics of the Lal Masjid (July 3-10, 2007).

The Pakistani security forces, especially the armed forces personnel, seem to be the main target of the human bombs ever since the Pakistan Army carried out the bloody Lal Masjid operation which allegedly killed hundreds, including innocent civilians.

Source: ANI

My two cents: I am simply speechless! I know these figures are staggering, but I wish some how we can also find out the number of civilian casualties in South Waziristan and border areas near Afghanistan? I bet there will be no comparison. Either way it was the life of a Pakistani. May Allah grant paradise to all those who have passed away and protect us from further casualties.

This sucks, but Lufthansa once again has decided to cease its operation in Pakistan. I was quite thrilled when Lufthansa resumed its service to Karachi last year and also included Lahore as an additional destination. However, service to Karachi was discontinued few months after resumption and now Lahore is also being let go. Sad news for Pakistan aviation industry, which unfortunately also reflects the state of our economy :(

Source: Khaleej Times

Yesterday, the Federal Minister for Water and Power Raja Pervez Ashraf said that there would be no unannounced loadshedding across the country during “Sehr” and “Iftar” time, adding that people can contact him on his cell number 0333-5210000 in case of loadshedding during Sehr or Iftar. He failed to mention our options for ‘announced loadshedding’ during Sehr and Iftar, or ‘unannounced loadshedding’ during the remaining 22 hours of the day, but we won’t go there.

I am a big fan of loadshedding and consider it a permanent part of the Lahori lifestyle, but I just HAD to try to call our minister during today’s three hour long unannounced loadshedding spell between 6PM to 9PM (which is Iftar time) in the Cantt area. I tried dialing for 20 minutes but his cell (0333 5210000) was turned off.

All I wanted was an opportunity to thank him for being so approachable and open, and for giving us the unplugged time that we Lahoris desperately need. I also wanted to thank him for turning me into a prolific Realist painter, which is a miracle as I have had no formal training.

Here is my masterpiece from yesterday, called ‘Starless Night in Lahore’:

Starless Night in Lahore

and the one I did today - I call this one ‘Lahore by Candlelight’:

Lahore by Candlelight

None of these are for sale, sorry! - but you might see them in an exhibition titled ‘Lahore in the 21st Century’ in the near future.

Anyway, besides our beloved Minister (0333 5210000), I also tried

1. the LESCO “Electric Supply Failure Contact” 042 9220425
2. the SDO’s number 0321 4951542 and
3. the cell number 0321 4951540 for the “XEN” (which is probably the coolest title abbrev. ever).

So I hope that you will write these numbers down and spare some time to call them the next time you experience an ‘unannounced loadshedding’ time. If you manage to get through, please share your experience here. Meanwhile, I’ll be out there, working on my next painting.

SAH who was found dead in his house in Karachi was laid to rest on August 31 in his native town, Lahore. I personally don’t know much about SAH, but heared he was somewhat of a controversial figure. May Allah rest his soul in peace and forgive all his sins. Amen.

Source: The News

It’s June, I know and have sweat drenched clothes to prove this. But I am talking about the March that everyone else is talking about, the long one, and not the month. (as if)

Lahore has played her part in this of course, as has every other major city all across the country. What makes this Long March so remarkable, that it has never happened in our country before (as per news reports at least…hmmm). So many people, and not only that, so many people with as many different backgrounds; from your farmer to your lawyer and from the average housewife to the average businessman, all opted in. They were not forced, no fuedal ordered them to reach Islamabad, no intelligence agencies coerced the civilian into going through unbelievable traffic jams and slow moving procession to reach the capital. But there they were, the representers of all of us.

To make it known, that we want Justice. And justice is for all. It does not matter if it is Musharaf that deviates or if it is Chaudry Iftikhar that ‘beholds’, no it does not. What matters is that for the first time ever, Justice itself matters.

God willing, this will have long lasting implication in the adolescent years of our country, that are right around the corner. The pimples on the face are there, the hormones are kicking in and boy oh boy, the world is our freakin’ oyster.

Let’s just make it work and let it all be honest, morally strong and ethically correct.

God bless and good luck to us all.