Recently, I saw a Ferrari in Lahore. Can anyone guess where this photo was taken?

While on the subject of cars, I took this photo of a very patriotic Mercedes near Model Town

Pakistan Zindabad

We just experienced a strong earthquake in Lahore and Islamabad  10 minutes ago (1:30AM approx.) that is being reported to have a 5.9 magnitude. The news was almost instantaneous on twitter though we are still waiting for the ‘old media’ to provide more information. We hope everyone is safe and sound (asleep).

10-12 hour load shedding till January?
The Pakistan Electric Power Company has announced that up to 10 -12 hours loadshedding will continue by the end of January when the supply position of hydal power generations will start improving.
“The situation is likely to improve by the start of the fourth week of January 2009, when present canal closure is expected to end.”
According to a press release issued here on Sunday, Pepco said due to canal closure and massive reduction of water releases by IRSA from Tarbela and Mangla reservoirs, hydro generation with an installed capacity of 6,500 MW has plummeted sharply for the last one week.

“Enough is enough…” Tzipi Livni’s (Israeli foreign minister) words today echoed in my mind in the context of Pakistan. The so called ‘land of the pure’ is on the verge of imploding even before any US drone or Indian missiles are fired. It seems years of neglect in the public, economic, social and political fronts have led to a complete lock down of intellect in society.

At one level, I can appreciate millions in the country don’t have the skills to differentiate right from wrong as they have never really had any creative education and have only been fed lies from the system. But I do expect some more sense from the urban elite and tech savvy young minds who have the means to seek the knowledge to arrive at more balanced views on all issues concerning their country.

To take a medical analogy, one of the primary signs of a patient suffering from terminal mental illness is that they never admit that anything is wrong with them. This only prolongs the suffering. Much like this, I am seeing continued denial on our part to accept that Pakistan indeed has become a ‘migraine’ for the world and will either need to change itself or be changed forcibly by the world whether or not we like it.

Over the last months on this forum, I have witnessed endless debates between the so called Kaami camp and the rest. I think Kaami makes a whole lot of sense and is one of the few amongst us who accepts that we are a sick nation that needs a cure. We will not become apologists to the west if we accept today that yes most of the terrorist incidents around the world have a Pakistan connection as for years we sold our souls to the extremist Saudi, Iranian and American agencies.

Leaving aside the recent Mumbai attacks, most terrorist attacks against the west are committed by people with strong connections to Pakistan especially in my adopted country of United Kingdom. Now if the west were to adopt an equally rigid stance of ‘pound for pound’ then we would’ve been annhilated by now….think of all our big cities resembling the rubble that are Kabul, Herat, Baghdad, Basra etc. We will only invite their force by baring our chests and shouting war chants.

Whether it is the US, India or Israel, we have set our eyes on the wrong enemy. As endlessly claimed by Kaami, the enemy is within our borders. The enemy which continues to rob us of progress, equality, justice and above all, peace. Let’s vow to root out this terror from our streets by denouncing these extremists as non-muslims and non-Pakistani who have no place in our society unless they change. This includes sympathisers of the present Saudi and Iranian regimes that continue to pump billions of petro dollars to indoctrinate young Sunni and Shia youth in our country towards a future of hate and destruction.

Having experienced both Saudi and Iran, I have witnessed first hand the barbarity with which humanity is treated. And if that is the ideal we seek to follow, then sadly our descent into the abyss has only just begun.

‘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

Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah

One great leader who never got duly recognized by the world for his ideas of liberty, his efforts to bring justice and equality and his service towards the underprivileged and minorities in this part of the world.

To us, here in Pakistan, he is and will always remain the Father and the Founder of the Nation; the greatest Leader to millions; Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah… Happy Birthday Quaid!!

More on Jinnah: Quaid-e-Azam

Image Source: Jinnah at Story of Pakistan

Videos:
Video 1: Watch Imran Nazir smash Sixes
Video 2: Watch as Imran Nazir shares secrets of sixes after collecting $10,000
Video 3: Watch Lahore lift the ICL cup, celebrations & joy, as Lahore celebrates
Lahore Badshahs beat Hyderabad Heroes by 8 wickets to lift ICL 20s Indian Championship.
Inzamam Ul Haq receives the Winners’ cheque worth two crores. And he lifts the sizzling ICL trophy too. Celebrations all around as firecrackers light up the sky.
The highlight of the win was a sparkling unbeaten century from the dashing Imran Nazir plundering 111 runs off only 44 balls; studded with 7 fours & 11 mighty sixes. The Knock also too Imran Nazir to the top of the leading scorer list for the tournament. Imran Nazir was fittingly declared man of the match. Nazir also won the Haywards Soda Solid Six award of US $10,000 for longest six of that went 140mts in the same match.
Rana Naved Ul Hasan wins man of the series award; wins 40 Lakhs rupees, Dish TV digital set top box, Luminous inverter & electric bike.
Detailed Scores
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I am sure a lot of people would agree that they develop certain craving for icecream during winters, so i am not alone. Chaman ke ice cream is famous, very famous yet cheaper, you can get three whole scopes with mouth-watering fruit and cream dressing topped with dry fruits in just 60 Rs. I admit, my aim was just to get some dry fruits from Saadiq, next to Chaman but i simply could not resist the urge for thandi thaaaaaaaarr ice cream, ie, killing two birds with one stone :p.

I heard they use only fats to make this ice cream (?), in fact i am pretty sure that they use big portion of fats because its too greasy (still tasty), thats what my inner chef told me ;), who exist right there inside every Lahori. However, having such a treat once a year is not harmful (…justifying..lolz) but if you question about quality…..ummm and compare it with some imported ice cream, sadly, it will disappoint you.

Khair, Chaman is famous, it rocks and rules, ( bus keh dyaa :D )….. so readers, right after reading this complex criticism, don’t think too much, go and grab a bowl of ice cream right away…and enjoy your Lahori winters.

Pakistan has been on an extended begging expedition. Travelling 11,089 km to New York to beg. Travelling 2,749 km to Riyadh to beg. And, travelling 2,091 km to Abu Dhabi to beg.

While all this begging is going on, 40 new cabinet members have taken oath. The government already spends Rs 600 billion a year more than its income and now, we have 40 new ministers. The government already incurs a loss of Rs 2 billion a day — every day of the year — but the strength of our federal cabinet now stands at 55. Don’t forget that we also have a dozen ambassadors-at-large, advisers and others with the status of a minister.

How much does a minister cost? (more…)