MicroPakistanMicroPakistanMicroPakistan looks at Pakistan through a microscope. It doesnt concern itself with the big picture. There is no need for facts and figures here. This blog is about things that concern Pakistani people as a nation. It concerns human developement, not Articles
Extraordinary Pakistan: the Baltoro Mountain-Glacier & the Snow Leopard
2007-04-28 17:26:00 It was the first time in history that an entire nature series was filmed with high-definition technology. The resulting images were some of the most fascinating that have ever been showed on television and in fact, some were the first of their type ever broadcasted (with respect to their content). That is one reason it ... More About: Environment , Pictorial , Pakistan , Snow , Leopard
Karachi?s invaluable Parsi connection
2007-04-26 18:49:00 Parsis (or, more appropriately, Zoroastrians as Mr Cowasjee would say) might be decreasing in numbers, but they have not let go off their principles or their dedication and commitment to their community. With their highly developed sense of duty and responsibility towards community and country, they have added immeasurably to civil society in Karachi . Here ... More About: Society , Connection , Connect , Parsi
Benazir Does Nothing to Deny the Deal at the London School of Economics
2007-04-25 16:34:00 I was looking forward to Benazir Bhutto?s lecture at the LSE. She was to deliver a talk on the current political situation in Pakistan. She spoke yesterday at the LSE and I was there on time to listen to her. Firstly, she was half an hour late. The talk was supposed to start at ... More About: Politics , Economics , London , School , Ondo
Patriotic songs: Some of the most popular
2007-04-23 21:24:00 Over the years every generation of Pakistan i singers have made it a point to sing songs with a patriotic feel to them. More often than not these songs have done relatively well and bode well for the popularity of a lot of singers re Junoon, Vital Signs and many others. Madame Noor Jahaan’s patriotic songs ... More About: Music , Songs , Popular , Most
One Deal, No Deal, Two Deals: Editorial by Najam Sethi, The Friday Times
2007-04-22 03:58:00 [Here is more on the ‘deal’. Najam Sethi argues that the deal has been done and is only a precursor to another, more detailed, deal after the elections. It runs counter to Haqqani’s thesis that there is no real deal, but only the illusion of a deal. Only time will tell.] Has a deal been clinched ... More About: Politics , Editorial , Edit , Friday , Deal
NEWSFLASH: KESC to protest against Karachi residents
2007-04-21 05:15:00 [For all those who are not aware this is a satirical piece as part of a series called NEWSFLASH (here and here). In this post I have looked at a real DAWN newspaper report on the power crisis in Karachi . Power cuts are a becoming a huge problem throughout the country and according to Pakistani ... More About: Satire , Protest , Again , Test
Musharraf and Benazir: Illusion of a Deal by Hussain Haqqani, Gulf News
2007-04-20 01:46:00 After Khuldun’s previous post about Musharraf and Benazir’s apparent deal I am posting this article by Hussain Haqqani who argues that there is no deal possible, but that the illusion of a deal works to Musharraf’s advantage. Gulf News , Oman Tribune, The Nation (Pakistan), Indian Express, Brunei Times, The Star (Bangladesh) April 11, 2007 Illusion of ... More About: Politics , Nazi
Benazir and Musharraf have Joined Hands
2007-04-18 21:44:00 It has been reported by the media in Pakistan that Benazir Bhutto and General Pervez Musharraf have reached an agreement. That is, Pervez Musharraf and Benazir Bhutto will together run Pakistan as President and Prime Minister respectively. The national general elections will take place in Pakistan this year, but it appears that the results of ... More About: Politics , Join , Hands , Nazi
The Last Advice: An Open Letter to Prime Minister Aziz by Tariq Hasan
2007-04-18 01:03:00 The third open letter we’ve put up in little over a month. They’ve been addressed to the Chief Justice, the President and the Prime Minister , respectively. Do they serve any purpose? There is evidence to suggest that in our country they do. The first one led to the reference being filed against the Chief Justice. ... More About: Government , Advice , Open , Letter
Quetta: In Pictures
2007-04-16 21:22:00 After the post on Peshawar I would like to move onto another city that I have never been to, but interests me greatly. The provincial capital of Balochistan, Quetta , is known as the ‘fruit garden’ of Pakistan. Its names derives from kwatta, which means fort in Pushto as it is a natural fort surrounded by ... More About: Pictures , Picture
PCB Constitution: A Circus Act?
2007-04-14 13:11:00 Cricket is a draining and emotional sport. Like cricket, this post is emotional and long, so brace yourselves. I have just read the ?draft? constitution of the PCB which has been passed by the Standing Committee of the Senate for approval to the President (also the Patron of PCB) ? which means it is past the ... More About: Constitution , Const , Cons , Circus
This is what Lal Masjid is talking about?
2007-04-14 04:00:00 If any of you is interested in knowing what the Lal Masjid fatwa against Tourism Minister Nilofar Bakhtiar is based on then click here for a larger image. The importance of these picture is not so much what they show, but what they say about the absurdity of the continuing Jamia Hafsa and Lal Masjid ... More About: What , Hat , About , Talk
Documentary: The Intersection
2007-04-12 17:29:00 I am putting up links to a documentary produced by VideoNation, The Nation magazine’s online video feature. The documentary is made by Sam Graham-Felsen, James Jacoby & Ali Sethi. Ali Sethi happens to be Najam Sethi (Editor Friday Times and Daily Times) and Jugnu Mohsin’s (Editor Friday Times) son. The comment on the Nation’s website, next ... More About: Documentary , Inter , Men , Document , Menta
The Other Side of the Economic Boom in Pakistan by Kamila Hayat, The News
2007-04-11 06:02:00 This is an old article, but is quite relevant to the often cited economic boom in Pakistan . It looks at the Pakistani economy from the point of view that we, at MicroPakistan, our trying to bring to light. The article scratches the surface of rhetoric about the positive macro-economic indicators and points towards the principle ... More About: News , Other , The N , The News
Daughter of the East: A review
2007-04-10 16:17:00 “Beautiful and charismatic, the daughter of one of Pakistan’s most popular leaders — Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, hanged by General Zia in 1979 — Benazir Bhutto is not only the first woman to lead a post-colonial Muslim state, she achieved a status approaching that of a royal princess, only to be stripped of her power in ... More About: Review , East , View , Daughter
Peshawar: In Pictures
2007-04-08 23:39:00 I feel we have been focussing too much on too few cities. Even though a lot of the posts concern Pakistan as a whole there have been hardly, if any, on cities apart from Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad. Hence, this is an attempt to look at the ancient city of Peshawar through pictures. Even though ... More About: Pictures , Picture , War , Shaw
A ?Nostalgist?s Map? of Pakistan
2007-04-08 04:45:00 I received this forward a long time back from a friend (HJ)… An interesting read for anyone who grew up in Pakistan in the 80s/90s. A “Nostalgist’s Map” of Pakistan/Karachi written from a well-off middle-class point of view. Author Unknown. Have you lived……from a Karachiwala…. Close your eyes….. And go back in time…. Before the Internet, ...
Jamia Hafsa, Aunty Shamim and recent protests in the capital
2007-04-07 21:25:00 As the seminaries continue their attempt to impose and spread their perversion of Islam, the nation faces yet another obstacle. For those who are unaware of Jamia Hafsa and its dangerous antics, the following video clips have been put up: A glimpse from within the madrassa: WPvideo 1.10 More About: Cent , Protest , Recent , Test , Tests
Vital Signs: The mellow 90s
2007-04-07 11:12:00 Surely Vita l Sign s needs no introduction. They shot to instant fame with the release of “Dil Dil Pakistan” in 1987 and subsequently ruled the Pakistani music scene for the next decade. ?Dil Dil Pakistan?, virtually a second national anthem, has been voted as the 3rd most famous song of all time by a recent BBC ... More About: Vital
Top Ten Bus Lyrics of the Week
2007-04-05 19:02:00 Yup! Anyone who has lived in Pakistan has seen them. Those colorful lyrics and poems painted behind a number of trucks, buses, rickshaws and taxis. In but a few lines, they convey thoughts and feelings which the average Pakistani would find hard to express. This is no doubt a great display of creativity. Perhaps our movie-makers and talent-hunters need to consider tapping this abundant resource. After all, it’s not like our movies are any better than these lyrics! Unable to keep this pool of creativity hidden from the rest of the world, I took the trouble of compiling the top ten of the week…feel free to add your own favourites. For further amusement and the benefit of our readers who don’t speak Urdu, I have translated the lyrics-which makes them even more hilarious. Enjoy! (more…) More About: Lyrics , Top Ten , Week
Iranians Are a Very Uncivilised Bunch by Terry Jones, The Guardian
2007-04-05 17:52:00 In one of my comments to Saad K’s post I had commented on the Iran ian national pride. Then yesterday Ahmadinejad announced the release of the 15 British sailors as a ‘gift’ to the British. Here is an interesting satirical piece from the Guardian where Terry Jones , a Python (has appeared in and directed several Monty Python movies), makes a comparison between the treatment given by Iran to the British sailors and the treatment by the Allied forces of their prisoners in the War on Terror. I am sure most of you would be against the double standards on display here and agree fully with this brilliant piece. Call that Humiliation? No hoods. No electric shocks. No beatings. These Iranians clearly are a very uncivilised bunch I share the outrage expressed in the British press over the treatment of our naval personnel accused by Iran of illegally entering their waters. It is a disgrace. We would never dream of treating captives like this - allowing them to smoke cigarett... More About: Dian , The Guardian
The forgotten slave children: the beggars and ?chuwas?
2007-04-04 17:25:00 Following on from my brief allusion (here) to camel jockeys - that are enslaved to satisfy the barbaric sporting habits of the rulers of the Middle East, this post concerns another type of slavery- beggary- that is rampant in Pakistan. It also contains a video report on the plight of ?rat children? or ? chuwas? ... More About: Children , Beggar , Child , Gott , Slave
A revolution is coming?
2007-04-03 21:54:00 Carefully chosen scenes from the movie “V for Vendetta” have complimented the background track. I felt this video was inspiring in light of the chain of events in Pakistan and some, if not all, peoples’ feelings in regards to them. Please note that the violence depicted in certain scenes do not imply or reflect the author’s ... More About: Evolution , Revolution , Ming
10,000 plan to start an Islamic revolution in Islamabad
2007-04-03 08:13:00 In regards to my rejoinder, I wonder what the chances of it being a self-fulfilling prophecy are? I feel the timing of this news is impeccable: Seminaries plan ?Islam ic revolution? By Inamullah Khattak (DAWN) ISLAMABAD, April 2: Two religious seminaries, Jamia Faridia and Jamia Hafsa, are adamant to enforce ?Shariat? in Islamabad and across the country and said they will announce ... More About: Islamic , Evolution , Start , Star
Karachi?s multi-billion dollar waterfront project
2007-04-03 01:24:00 We posted a satirical piece on one of the proposed multi-billion dollar development projects in Karachi earlier. Below I’ve posted a video titled ‘Karachi Waterfront’, which is a waterfront project spearheaded by Dubai based real estate developer, Limitless. Many of you might be aware of this as this was approved in June. I had read ... More About: Dollar , Project , Multi , Lion
Of the rich Sheikhs and the poor bird
2007-03-31 23:49:00 Guest post by Saad K. The start of spring marks the end of the hunting season in Pakistan. It also marks the end of the stay of some of nature?s guests that fly back to their homeland having fulfilled their annual migration from the winter cold of the fall-away Soviet states to the relative warmth of Balouchistan ... More About: Rich , Bird , Poor , Sheik
Rabiul-Awal
2007-03-31 12:05:00 Though I was in the midst of writing a post regarding the holy month of Rabiul-Awal and the birth of the Prophet (P.B.U.H.), I came upon an excellent article by Ms. Naureen Aqeel published in The News yesterday. Following is the article in its entirety: Loving the Prophet (pbuh), but how? Love is a potent emotion and it ...
Justice, anyone??and a rejoinder
2007-03-29 06:44:00 Meenah, a reader, cries out to all Pakistanis to stand up for justice. She quotes Faiz’s poetry to reflect upon the current dismal state of affairs and to point towards an eventual solution. She urges us to stand up for our rights and for justice. Ghafoor’s rejoinder to a question posed by Meenah is ... More About: Justice , Just , Join , Anyone
Worrying email from Hameed Haroon, CEO of DAWN Newspaper
2007-03-28 06:51:00 We had first posted a story about DAWN being pressurised on March 8th 2007. This was exactly a day before the Chief Justice was made ‘non-functional’. Obviously, at that time I had no idea what was to follow, but I found this attack on the freedom of press to be so significant that I commented, ... More About: News , Mail , Email , Worry , Paper
Bob Woolmer?s death: My theory
More articles from this author:2007-03-27 22:15:00 So, it’s confirmed that Bob Woolmer was murdered. Last couple of days everyone’s been trying to voice their theories about how he was murdered, who may have done it and why. I’d like to put out my theory as well before we actually find out who did it. You see, its a high profile investigation ... More About: Theory , Death , Theo 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 |
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