Away from the Crowd

Shah lived in a joint family. His father, a hardworking farmer was known for his hospitality. Shah lived with his uncles, aunts, siblings, cousins, nephews and nieces. Growing up, Shah knew that with time he would have to take more responsibility of his family members. Like his father, Shah worked very hard. But his father kept him away from the fields and pastures. His father wanted him to do pursue higher education and be the first university...

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My Batchmate

 Yesterday, I met one of my undergraduate batch fellows (BN) in the capital. Back in the university, he studied economics. I remember him saying how he would teach children in a small rural school, after graduation. Usually after making this particular point he would often smile. Seeing him smile strengthened my belief that he had other plans in his mind.Yesterday while having green tea, he was busy with his phone sending voice notes. Upon asking...

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Book Review: Among the Mountains: Travels Through Asia by Wilfred Thesiger

In this book, Wilfred Thesiger a well known British explorer of the twentieth century writes about his travel experience in the mountains of Middle East and Asia. The author makes some interesting revelations about the people, terrain, flora and fauna, that he observes during his travels. He also shows his bias in his writings.He states that at Brep in Chitral all the inhabitants had goitre (p. 20). He mentions about the presence of Kirghiz, Wakhis,...

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Book Review: A Princely Affair: The Accession and Integration of the Princely States of Pakistan, 1947-1955 by Yaqoob Khan Bangash

Bangash's book covers a very important but often neglected phase of Pakistan's history. The complicated process of integration, the postcolonial transition and the ways in which it affected the nature of the state is also covered.There are certain details which are new to me, so I mention them in the review. General Muhammad Ayub Khan married his daughter to the son of Wali-e-Swat. Kalat and Bahawalpur states gave money to Chief's (later Aitchison)...

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Book Review: After the Neocons: America at the Crossroads by Francis Fukuyama

The central theme of this book is the post September 11, 2001 foreign policy of the United States of America. Francis Fukuyama has come to the conclusion that he can no longer support neoconservatism (both as a political symbol and body of thought) as it has developed into something which has become irreversibly identified with the policies of the first term of George W. Bush's administration. Fukuyama stresses on the need to redefine American foreign...

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Doing the Right Thing

Yesterday I saw my neighbor busy with supervision of cementing the front yard of his house. He had directed the laborers to create a a gentle slope using cement. Now, the cement slope exceeds the boundary of the plot and very clearly violates the parameters of the main road.This makes me think about "doing the right thing." In this country, creating problems for others has become a fashion now. In PK, I see people parking on footpaths which...

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Seeing is not Believing

I grew up hearing that seeing is believing. I think this idea was as meaningless back then, as it is right now. the use of pictures, videos and print, plays a very important role in propaganda.The last Prime Minister was a prime example of excessive propaganda. He was portrayed as a messiah who would rescue the country from all challenges. Hero worship reached its height when anyone criticizing the Prime Minister or his policies was ruthlessly trolled...

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Generation PUBG

Today (30 June 2023) while exercising in a nearby park I saw two small girls copying me. This made me smile. They were trying to copy every move. Trying very hard to do push ups they repeatedly asked me if they were doing it correctly. These little girls were aged between 8-10 years, wearing their Eid clothes. They really wanted to learn different exercises. As I was leaving, I saw the girls running and trying to do difficult exercises inside the...

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The Ideal Job

Sitting on a velvet sofa, he gazes at his little grandson. He smiles at him, who is busy building a tower with his lego pieces. The tower crumbles!  Removing his spectacles, the proud grandfather loudly says: "My grandson will become an engineer."Replying to this the boy's grandma enters the sitting area and says: "A government engineer." To which her husband replies: "Obviously."In a mild tone the grandpa says: " A government job is like a...

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