Highlights of the July 2007 issue

Between the Lines

Idrees Bakhtiar

Not all burqas are the same, or those hidden behind them. Here I am not referring to the debate over whether women should be veiled. In fact, I am referring to other burqas and the people hidden behind them. For instance, is there anyone in Pakistan who did not see Maulana Abdul Aziz Ghazi who was caught 'red handed' while trying to escape along with burqa-clad women from Lal Masjid.

The incident reminded me of a very important burqa and a very respected personality who once hid underneath its folds.
 

The Lost Frontier?

In the rich political lexicon of our country, few words are as misleading or contentious as the Frontier, an amalgam of colonial-style rule and federal neglect. For decades, there has been a touch of ambivalence about the Frontier’s identity, both as a province and a signpost for the country’s international boundaries. But a new shade of meaning started to evolve after Pakistan took on the role of junior partner in the US-led war on terrorism. 

“I don’t remember any other incident in which Nato forces fired across the border and civilians died”

By Umer Farooq

— Major-General Waheed Arshad, director-general, Inter-Services Public Relations

Q. In two separate incidents, Pakistan’s borders were violated by the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) forces. One took place in Shawal Valley in South Waziristan, on which you commented, and a second in Tor Zawar near Angoor Adda, where reportedly US B-52 bombers hit mud houses and 22 people were killed. Why did you not comment on the second incident?
A. There was only one incident. People don’t visit the tribal areas when reporting the events. A few reporters were saying that an incident took place in South Waziristan while others were saying that it happened in North Waziristan. Actually the area is located on the border of South and North Waziristan and it is called Mangratay in Shawal Valley. It is close to the Afghan border where the rockets of the coalition forces hit houses and a hotel located in the area.
 

Election year gimmick

By Nasir Jamal

The government’s move to provide selected kitchen items at reduced prices in an expanded network of utility stores is being viewed with scepticism

Food price inflation can be exceedingly risky in an election year, particularly for a government whose campaign for a second term has to be built around its economic performance rather than any other point. Incessant food price escalation is hard for the people to stomach, especially for the lower and middle income groups whose votes count. The present government appears to have realised this simple fact and hence the much-touted food subsidy programme for the lower-income segments of society in its recently-unveiled budget.

Indecent Exposure

Underequipped and unrewarded, members of the bomb squad go about their business with a characteristic ear to the ground

For a city that has endured an obscenely high number of bomb explosions, Karachi seems to have invested precious little, in terms of men and material, to counter these threats and ensure public safety in larger measure.

Bleeding New Leaders

The battle to restore Pakistan’s cricket pride is fraught with both fresh and familiar challenges
 
With the naming of Salman Butt as vice captain of the Pakistan cricket team in the middle of June, a not so silent coup staged on behalf of the 20-somethings in the national squad reached its climax. By virtue of this, Butt and the new captain Shoaib Malik decisively leapfrogged their older counterparts Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Yousuf, Shahid Afridi and Abdul Razzaq and took over a rejuvenated side.

“Somebody once told me that if you create something that people cannot understand, it becomes
art…”

Narcissistic and pretentious are among the epithets that have been used for Abdullah Syed by his associates and even friends. However, the labels that cannot be attached to him are banal and predictable. In fact, it is the antithetical elements in his disposition and understanding that constitute the man and the artist and plant the 32-year-old Syed firmly in the ranks of Pakistan’s leading artists.

No thank you, we’re Pakistanis…

What can one say about the tourism potential of a country whose federal minister for tourism had to resign from office under pressure because she’d hugged a man on foreign shores? No ulterior motive there, mind you. An innocuous paragliding venture, followed by a congratulatory hug from the instructor! But why look at ordinary, boring realities, when one can get into a huff about …