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In aid of friendship KEEPING in view Pakistan’s satisfactory handling of the nuclear issue, Japan has decided to resume its annual assistance to Pakistan, says Nobuakai Tanaka, the Japanese ambassador to Pakistan....		Inquisitive minds HAVE often been asked: why do I, at times, sound apologetic? Why do I feel constrained to furnish a preamble in some of my discussions? Before I share with you the queries of the inquisitive persons born after 1947, I must first answer the two questions....
Disseminating information “PEOPLE don’t actually read newspapers, they get into them every morning like a hot bath,” Marshall McLuhan once said. This must have given the reader the idea that our topic under...		Taxi driver “SIR jee, there should be a system in this country,” the cab driver started talking just after the vehicle rolled out of Rawalpindi’s bustling Chandni Chowk....
The perennial outcasts FOR centuries there have been gypsies in our midst. Staying for a brief period at one place, they are always on the look for a new destination. Wandering throughout their lifetime, packing up and shifting humble household is an easy task for them. It is an unending movement on carts. Whether it is their instinct or acute poverty, they are and have always been the perennial outcasts....		Film festivals IT’S that time of the year when you wake up early in the morning, tiptoe into the common room and switch on your television to follow one of the grandest movie...
A barbaric entertainment FOR centuries, the people of Sindh have remained involved in the spectator sport of cock fighting. This has particularly remained alive in the rural areas and is part of life in...		A test of patience OF the three million people from some 160 countries of the world who performed Haj this year, about 150,000 were Pakistanis. I was one of them. Most of the Pakistanis I met in the Kingdom at various places were screaming — not out of joy on having been ‘dry-cleaned’ of all the sins they had committed till setting foot on the holy lands, but because of the poor arrangements ...
The first few days TODAY, in this fast moving world, bringing up babies isn’t as straightforward as it used to be. Years ago, when the baby was hungry, you fed it; when it was wet, you changed it. Brace yourself, all that has changed....		Dubai chalo ALMOST a quarter of a century ago, a TV series titled Ek Haqeeqat Ek Fasana was launched from Lahore in which I was cast as a golden hearted Edhi-sque journalist whose...
Importance of a research culture EFFECTIVE higher education as an instrument of change and growth has always been integral, and indeed central, to the agendas of nations seeking intelligent, comprehensive and lasting socio-economic development. Institutes of higher learning are meant not only to impart quality education to graduates, but also to incubate new ideas, concepts...		Experimenting with ghazal SOME poets are deeply immersed in their own creative world. They seldom have the time to think or write about other creative individuals. Majeed Amjad was one such verse-wielder. So, when...
The saint who revived Islam IN the 10th century Hijri, certain hostile forces tried to harm Islam in the subcontinent. At the time, on the one hand, Muslim scholars were trying to sort out differences that...		Hot Seat IT has been well over a decade that the music scene in Pakistan exploded and took a huge turn for the better. In this time, many bands have proven themselves time...
Pakistan’s Herculean task PAKISTAN, who last year struggled for a 3-2 victory over New Zealand in the play-off to retain its place in the Group One, on clay courts in Islamabad, will be facing a challenging task to overcome formidable Thailand in the Davis Cup, Asia Oceania Zone Group One tie, starting on March 4 on the grass courts of Lahore....		Correcting the wrongs of hockey IT has been a long time now since Pakistan hockey’s ails started to dominate its international results. Once the giants whose very name used to send a shudder of fear through...
Pakistan has the moral upper hand AT least on one count I have been proven wrong. I wrote last week when the squad was not yet announced that regardless of what may or may not happen, I...		Davis Cup and beyond A spirited Pakistan is getting ready to face the stiff challenge from formidable Thailand in the first round of Davis Cup Asia-Oceania Zone, Group 1, tie being played at the...
‘Corruption, what corruption?’ HAVE you ever been stuck in a time warp? Would you know if you had been? I think I am. And beginning to sound like a broken record too. Having lived in America for five years, away from the madding crowd ... distance making their malevolence sharper, my mind is riveted on the putridity of people in power who have blighted...		A forgettable night THE only funny part in this article is its beginning. And that too happened when I was lying in my bed after a diagnostic operation, feeling very sorry for myself. My maid walked in saying “Hai ji, main tay dua kardi aan, Allah tussan nu jaldi utha levay.” Her roughly translated words were: “I pray to God to raise you up quickly....
Irritating insect AS I screamed at the top of my lungs, my husband and son came running into the room. “What happened?” was my husband Nasir’s question. Meanwhile, my son spotted the little...		Call it exaggeration WITH reference to Amar Jaleel’s column Call it exaggeration (February 13), like so many other people, I believe that Amar Jaleel, in the middle of an interesting narration, kills the readers’...
MOSAIC: Tsunami damages BEYOND the horrific loss of human life, the earthquake and resulting tsunami of December 26, 2004 had enormous impacts on Indonesia’s coastal environment, causing damage and loss to natural habitats and...		Newsmaker THEY had such comic magic that even looking at them made you smile. Laurel and Hardy are undoubtedly the greatest comedy duos in cinema history and even decades after their death there will be few who would not know them. And those who don’t, know nothing about cinema....