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The energy crunch These days, much in life seems to depend on the cost of energy, which in turn is based on the prices of fuel. The prices of oil and gas have gone up once again, which has made electricity and transport more expensive....		Israel’s dance of death Within years of its creation, the United Nations, under the influence of the USA, staged a dance of death, which does not seem anywhere ending. It created the state of Israel....
Birds of a feather It was a great gathering of the most powerful and influential elite who have dominated the political scene in Pakistan since 1947. The venue was the famous Great Guest-house nicknamed GG,...		Wait for the banks to reach out to you It was all about banking. The good banking practices of the past, the bad banking practices which followed nationalization when the bank executives became richer and the depositors poorer, and the...
An enlightening experience Before I could extol the virtues of a helicopter service, I needed to get on one. I had not flown in a helicopter. Besides, there were many questions that needed answers....		My green passport WHEN I got my first green Pakistani passport, I was immensely happy. This will open new doors for me, I thought. My friends threw a small party as it was not...
Money matters They say earning money — really huge amounts and not the pittance the salaried class normally earns — is an art having to do more with an eye for opportunity, quick...		Roads and prosperity I was in Dera Ghazi Khan about a decade back and was impressed by the city’s wide dual-carriage main road. There wasn’t much traffic to justify it but, considering the rapid...
Barren beauty From an altitude of around 9000 metres, we descend into the dense morning haze, beneath which forms a splendid texture of mountains and terrains. Further down, piercing through the blanket of...		Seamen’s sorrows The fishermen of Ibrahim Haideri, a village located near the outlets of Korangi creek in Karachi, can’t catch a fish of more than five feet of length today. A decade ago,...
Up close and personal in ’03 Because of Eve, the world has gone awry. Four more cloned babies are on their way. All because one French journalist with a hyperactive imagination claims that aliens visited him 30...		It’s risky being honest We grow up listening to popular sayings such as ‘Honesty is the best policy’, and often use these cliches in conversations. If a continuum were to be drawn placing honesty at...
Women and media Women’s portrayal in the media has been a point of strong international debate, and is also a highly-sensitized topic in our country. The issue of media sociology also comes up subsequently...		A poet of the masses Nazir Akbarabadi is an alluring and enchanting poet. His expressions comprise folk phraseology and are garbed in unique humour. But he also possesses a deep sense of studying minute details. His...
The genius of John Keats John Keats, a true genius in the genre of English literature, stands as a unique poet in his expression — the most romantic of all romantic poets. His poetry contains different...		CHAPTERS FROM HISTORY: Mohammed Ali and Khilafat Mohammed Ali’s (1878-1931) riposte to The Times editorial on “The Choice of Turks” in his Comrade on September 26, 1941, marked an entwinement of his politics with Turkey and the Khilafat...
POINT OF VIEW: Witnesses to barbarism LITERARY journals coming from India bring with them horrifying memories of the Muslims’ holocaust in Gujarat. The poems and short stories appearing in these magazines speak of the deep scars the...		Divided we now stand The Sri Lankans arrived in Australia after a horrific tour of South Africa, where they had been clueless on how to attack or defend. Nasser Hussain’s men can’t last three rounds...
THROUGH THE COVERS: No real surprise in the Cup squad THE 15-man squad that Pakistan has announced for the forthcoming World Cup carries no real surprises. Some would argue about whether or not Azhar Mahmood should have been picked after an...		Excess baggage Leaving America was definitely more difficult than getting there. It was almost like America didn’t want me to leave, as if everything was pulling me back, telling me “Don’t go, don’t...
The honour girl She came to my bank situated in a college premises at least several times in a month. She had an aura of simplicity, grace and dignity about her....		NEWSMAKER WHEN Prime Minister Jamali secured the vote of confidence in the newly-elected National Assembly, it marked, at least in theory, the completion of the transition from direct military rule to democracy....