Humara Dil Humari Jaan .:: Dil Dil Pakistan ::.

Alvida

2011-03-18T02:57:00.004-04:00

There will be no new posts to this blog. Although i know it's quite late and very obvious since there is a one year gap between my last 'post,' but i just wanted to let the fans know that i no longer have the capacity to write quality content that matches up to the legacy of Dil Dil Pakistan. This blog is, and will remain, a beautiful part of my expressive life and therefore i will leave it out for display instead of just deleting it. Looking around the web i've found some love and appreciation for this blog that i will put up later. If you still want to catch up with me then be sure to check out my new blog: 1000words;it's something 'hatke' so i'm really curious of the public opinion about it :x Anyhow, care friends and well wishers and thank you for your tremendous support throughout!!

under construction

2010-07-15T02:41:00.003-04:00

looks rough i know...but hang in there; i'll add my touch soon

The Pakistani Reader

2010-07-13T18:56:00.003-04:00

Sorry i haven't been able to post for a while as sometimes somethings exhaust a person but i am happy to inform you that i will be changing up the blog a bit. I've been thinking about it for a while and finally decided to take action. It won't be much different but will cover a wide range of interesting topics through a pakistani's reader's point of view. Stay tuned. Looking forward to creative and amazing future, See you soon :D

Oh yea btw the blog's new name will be The Pakistan Reader.

UPDATE: the url is back to D2PAK.blogspot.com

Defiance

2010-05-18T19:54:00.000-04:00

The world was at shock on May 14, 2010, when Pakistan lost to Australia even after making an outstanding 191 runs. Australia had to make 18 runs in 6 balls and Micheal Hussey did something that would go down in the record books and remain there forever; he scored 22 runs off of 4 balls and took Australia to the final. The score which is nearly impossible to make was made off of quite possibly Pakistan's best spinner: Saeed Ajmal. No one can blame Saeed Ajmal either. Throughout the whole match he was a strong bowler for Pakistan and the last over was just something out of his control. In his own words he stated: "The first delivery was perfect, it was what I had planned, it was a perfect yorker to Mitchell Johnson and it only went for a single, However, then the wind seemed to pick up and I was bowling into the wind which made me lose my line and length. I dragged the next delivery down and instead of bowling yorkers into the blockhole for the remaining deliveries as I tried to fire the ball in at the batsman, the deliveries ended up being quick and became length deliveries, which was what Hussey was hoping for. He was then able to get the elevation on the deliveries, instead of having to dig them out". Ajmal was heartbroken after the match, and still is, but has a great set of teammates and coaches by his side to publicly and personally console him: "Saeed is a magnificent competitor, a great bowler and someone who remains a match-winner, He has led Pakistan to many victories and I'm sure in future he will help us to many more victories." (Kamran Akmal). "It was an unbelievable innings; you just don't see many like that around. I can't really blame anyone. I thought we bowled pretty well and batted outstandingly" (Waqar Younis). For Australia it was a major victory and a shot at their very first t20 world cup, but for Pakistan, even though it may not seem like it; it was no less of a victory either. Even though they lost, they fell as a team. No one pointed fingers at any specific person or player (which is very unusual for a South Asian team) mainly because no one had a reason to; everyone gave it their best. For a team who has always been criticized for it's batting, Pakistan made 191 runs; which is a hard score to make in 20 overs and serves as a terrific middle finger to it's critics. For the team who was snubbed by the Indians in IPL and the world thought that for Pakistan it was a big disadvantage, it made it to the semifinals while it's counterpart (India) got out without a trace and later even blamed the same IPL for it's losses. For a team that has no international cricket in it's country for over a year now, Pakistan is the only international cricket team that made the semi finals of EVERY SINGLE ICC event since the 2007 world cup. So does the Pakistani cricket team have any reason to be sad or worrisome? NO. The fact is that we stand up against every discrimination made towards us by the international cricket community and make an impact wherever we go and whichever tournament we participate in. That is our defiance and we live by it.

[Image: © AFP]

My Heart Beats For Pakistan

2010-05-13T15:32:00.001-04:00

The 2nd semi-final of the 2010 T20 World Cup is tomorrow. Pakistan will be playing Australia; the team that smacked Pakistan all this year in every single format of the game. Yet for some strange reason i believe Pakistan is going to win. Australia has won every single match in this tournament, but so did South Africa last year and Pakistan sent them running back home in the semi-finals. This is indeed a very hard match to predict as Australia is the only team that dominates Pakistan even when Pakistan is in form. But you can't leave the Pakistani side out of the picture, If the mood is right the green shirts could dominate the field. If Pakistan wins, they are going to face their 1992 world cup opponents who ironically are the only reason Pakistan are in the tournament. Pakistan would've been out if England hadn't beat New Zealand earlier. Which is also more weird as England did the same thing for Pakistan in the 1992 world cup and then later faced them in the final ( our first world cup :D ). Strictly by statistics Australia has everything on it's side but you never know; the green shirts can strike any time!

[Image: © AFP]

Help From Above

2010-05-10T18:33:00.004-04:00

Pakistan made it to the semifinal!! After all hope was lost for the Pakistani cricket team when they lost the key match against New Zealand (by one run), they miraculously managed to get to the semi-finals. They overcame South Africa with the captain Shahid Afridi finally coming into form (30 runs off of 18 Balls), as well as Saeed Ajmal (4 wickets) and the Akmal brothers (Kamran and Umar made 37 and 51 respectfully) finally making their presence felt in this year's tournament. That wasn't all though; Their win would have been useless if England had not beaten New Zealand later on. If New Zealand had won, then Pakistan would have been taking the next flight home. It was nothing short of a miracle that Pakistan has everything going it's way. It's a blessing from a higher power that got the green shirts through. Being unpredictable, Pakistan's chances in the semis can't be determined but their performance throughout this year's tournament has been disappointing (winning 2 out of 5 matches). But as one can see, skill is not the only thing that is needed in cricket ;) God bless the Pakistani cricket team and God bless Pakistan. I wish them the best in the semis. =)

Pakistan vs South Africa Scorecard
England vs New Zealand Scorecard
Pakistan vs New Zealand Scorecard (1 run loss)

[Image: © AFP]

The Cry Of A Minority

2010-05-04T16:05:00.001-04:00

Being a minority in a nation, your community has to sort of be as transparent as possible. If not transparent then at least productive in a good way. I live in New York City where there are all different types of minorities. There is a lot of cultural diffusion and understanding between cultures here. Yet there is still uneasiness against Muslims. Most of the time it's because most of the people are too narrow-minded to understand the real situation and distinguish between the good and bad, but there are some people have every right to behave the way they do. You know why? Because of idiots like the "Times Square Bomb Suspect" gives them a reason to. As soon as the city (you can also say the country as well) sees a change in the environment; with Obama having a better AfghanPak policy and pushing the news media and government agencies to separate the words Islam and terrorism as far as possible, something like this happens. What's worst is that the suspect was of Pakistani origin. Since most people in the states don't know about the Pakistani accomplishments in war of terror (most don't even know that Pakistan is on the same side as America in the war) this is just further going to taint our image. What's worst is that the Pakistani taliban tried to take claim for it. So because of their stupid and unrealistic claim the words Pakistani and taliban are temporarily stuck in the minds of the popluation. So thank you idiots; you just made the life of 7 million Muslims even more difficult!

[Image: © futureofthebook.org]

Pakistan Zindabad...From London?!?

2010-04-25T19:25:00.002-04:00

MQM president Altaf Hussian has announced his plans to solve pakistan's poverty while, get this; sitting his ass down in his comfortable loft in London as a BRITISH CITIZEN! Wow, really now that's something. He is not in Pakistan during Pakistan's hard times and he thinks he has the right to say something like this. And before you try to back him up saying something like: he is in exile and he's really not to blame, well guess what: your dead wrong. Altaf Hussain is in voluntary exile meaning he chooses to stay away from Pakistan. Why would anyone do that? Well in 1992, a warrant was issued for his arrest in connection of murder so he fled first to Saudi Arabia and then later to London. He had 72 cases against him, with 31 on murder and 11 on murder attempts before he was granted amnesty by the infamous and corrupt NRO (National Reconciliation Ordinance) just a year back. So yea, this is the guy who says that he wants to solve Pakistan's problems and the sad thing is that people are actually going to support him. Now why would anyone do that? Well it's quite simple; because we (the public) like to hear and think about change and hope for it to happen, even if we know it's nearly impossible that it will. But what makes this an even funnier move is that his statements weren't even about the whole nation as he was strictly talking about Punjab. He is just looking to extend MQM's political power to Punjab and not at all to improve the public's situation. His calls for dividing wealth and power among the poor (which is by the way communism) is as pointless as the 18th amendment and the renaming of the NWFP (I ♥ this example; so relevant :D). He goes on criticizing the Punjabi politicians saying "Why do people of Punjab keep voting for plunderers and looters who have been tried before?" It's quite ironic because that's exactly who he is! lol. Another point to note is that MQM (Muttahida Qaumi Movement), the party he created, is made to represent the people who emigrated from india in 1947. So what happened to the rest of us Pakistanis? Do we not exist in his party's eyes? Out of all the corrupt politicians i have seen he is clearly the most idiotic one. I mean, at least the others hide their evil ways; he just boasts his. MQM, which hasn't been able to control Karachi where target killings are unfortunately very popular (probably done by his and his rival's parties) has now set their eyes on punjab. That's very alarming and in fact very sad if it actually happens.

[Image: © amnesty.org.uk]

What's In A Name?

2010-04-15T03:12:00.002-04:00

There used to be a time when Punjabis lived in Punjab, Sindhis lived in Sindh, Baluchis lived in Baluchistan, Kashmiris lived in Kashmir, and Pashtun and Hazarawal lived in Afhania (NWFP, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, or whatever you wanna call it). THOSE TIMES ARE LONG GONE. This is what the majority of the Pakistani population fails to understand. Ever since the partition, people of different ethnicities have moved across ethnic borders to test their luck and improve their standards of living in the newly formed Pakistan. They thus created a new identity for themselves; Pakistani. There is not a single province today which is home only a single ethnicity; All are mixed. More than 62 years ago, The Muslims of south asia promised to come together and unite under a new Muslim nation, they have yet to fulfill their promise. Today, They are fighting over renaming and creating new provinces to represent themselves, but they fail to realize the only representation they actually need is Pakistani. The name of a province does not mean squat these days and neither will it in the future. It has no benefit yet only negative effects. It will make the smaller ethnicities within the province seem suppressed and overpowered, which will eventually cause chaos in the streets. The whole idea of renaming/creating a province on ethnic bounds really does not make sense in today's Pakistan. For example, the most populated province is Punjab. That doesn't mean every one living in Punjab is Punjabi. There are vast amount of Kashmiris in the north, and as a result of the ongoing war; vast amount of Pashtuns located all over the province. We have to recognize ourselves as Pakistani and not as anything else. Actions like renaming provinces will only divide us amongst ourselves. If you don't believe me then look around and see all the unnecessary violence that is going on. Damage of public property, hundreds injured, as well as some lives have been lost because of protests. Is it really worth it? What i don't get in the first place is why do the Pashtuns need Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and why is there a need for a Hazara or Seraiki province? Why can't all these groups live as Pakistani? Renaming or creating a province isn't going to bring even a slight change in their daily lives. It's not like the anyone of those groups are going to live in the proposed provinces they are fighting each other for anyway. My bet is that each and everyone of them are going to either going to stay in Punjab or Sindh. The renaming of the province is not even in the benefit of the people. How do i know? Because it is all political. Political parties love to fight for a cause with no meaning in it. Political groups within the nation are fighting to extend their power within other ranks. Renaming the province is their tactic but it was as worthless to the common man as the 18th amendment. For them the average man's life is a joke. If you think they actually care about you then ask yourself; where is my electricity? Where is my atta (flour)? Where is my gas? When you get the answers then ask yourself: Why in the world am i supporting them (the political parties) in these pointless moves?

[Image: © dawn.com]

Obama Takes A Step Forward

2010-04-13T01:06:00.002-04:00

American president Barack Obama has called for a much neutral stance of language for the ongoing war (War On Terror) within his government and his country's media. He aims to separate Islam from terrorism so the people fighting this war on both ends will not confuse the two. This will also help neutral forces who are viewing the war (Muslims and westerners). Indeed, this is a very good step forward by the Obama administration, who is still suffering by and fixing the mistakes of it's predecessor. While the Bush administration lacked proper vocab and misguided the entire world into chaos, the Obama administration wants to do the exact opposite and is now making it happen. By this action, Obama also hopes to clear the doubts of Muslims all over the world. He wants them to see America as a friend and not as a nation who is out to harm them. If looked at by the war point of view, this tactic is also great against al-qeada and other anti-american groups who relied on washington's earlier mistakes to recruit and brainwash people into their alliance. I support this move dearly. By doing this, the public (the american as well as western) will be well aware of the real situation of the war. Except for being all about words and having no major action involved, it is very similar to Pakistan's tactic back in 2007. In order for the government and army to make the people of Swat and Pakistan realize the taliban were not really all about Islam like they claimed to be, they allowed taliban's control to be placed in Swat by the public demand. They hoped in the future the people themselves will realize their mistake and turn against the taliban. That's exactly what happened and it was a very successful move which helped Pakistan advance greatly in the war. This is nonetheless a very big step forward, not only for America and the war, but for the entire world.

[Image: © nj.com]

Chaos In The Smokers' Den

2010-04-09T02:09:00.002-04:00

In a recent discovery, the use of pig blood has been found inside cigarette filters. Communities out all over the world are freaking out, mostly the the Muslim and Jewish communities. Pig is forbidden to both communities as well as many cultures and religions around the world (one good example is india). Outrage among communities is growing throughout. Still, the cigarette companies are keeping mum about their ingredients! That kind of action will create nothing but chaos in the near future. Kinda reminds me of the independence rising in 1857 when the infamous Mangal Pandey and his fellow "freedom fighters" rebelled against the British's future induction of a new type of bullet cartridge that consisted of pig fat. They failed because they were high on opium, but the world today is fighting sober (well mostly lol). If you think about it, It's sort of the same situation. Except this time, it's much more international and it's the cigarette companies against the world. News reports show that the companies will release their ingredient lists in june, but something tells me that it's gonna happen much sooner. Mostly because this generation is impatient; which in this case is a good thing =)

[Image: © stopsmokingsteps.com]

Religious Fanatic

2010-03-23T15:47:00.003-04:00

On Tuesday, in a small town in sindh, a man beheaded three of his daughters and then cut his own veins and bled to death. This barbaric act does not have a taliban connection nor an economic connection. The man slaughtered his three innocent daughters in the name of religion. Their heads were found underneath the feet of a hindu goddess along with all the items needed for "puja path". Although we know that not all hindus practice human sacrifice but it is important to highlight that extremism groups exist within all religions. The christians have the ku klux klan (they massacred and killed uncountable people that were not white using christianity as an excuse), us muslims have the taliban/al qeada, and the hindus have the Kali worshipers. Now the reports didn't show which goddess specifically this man offered his daughters to, but with a little research i have discovered that most of human sacrifices in the hindu religion belong to the followers of the Kali goddess. For example; In another event in 2002, a man, his wife, his daughter and three other people stripped a 15 year girl down and chopped pieces of her body off (hands, feet, and breasts) until she bled to death. They placed her body parts in front of a picture of Kali's feet. And no matter how disgusting it sounds, the animals behind this crime brag about their vicious acts rather than see it as wrong. According to Time magazine, although human sacrificing practices are banned throughout the world they are still practiced. In india, each month there is at least one human sacrificed for Kali that the authorities find out about. While those sacrifices take place in and around big cities like mumbai and calutta, it would be scary to find out how many sacrifices take place in the the villages and the rural area that the authorities barely have any access to. It is interesting to note that while the whole world sees muslims as religious fanatics they easily forget the real ones that walk around amongst them; Islam condemns such acts while it's counterparts make it a part of their religion. Well, as of now i just feel bad for the wife of the murderer who returned home and saw her whole life ruined in front of her eyes.

Well Done Idiot!

2010-03-15T14:00:00.004-04:00

No this isn't another post about how bad Zardari's leadership is, im sure we are all quite aware of that by now. In fact, this is about another politician: Chief Minister of Punjab Shahbaz Sharif. This guy is a complete moron. Some might even compare his incapability to lead to his brother (the infamous Nawaz Sharif). Today, through the press, he sent a message to the taliban: "Spare Punjab." And those, my friends, are his EXACT words. I can't even describe the anger i feel against him right now. While the whole country is fighting the taliban and even arch political rivals are working hand in hand for the nation's cause, this idiot comes out saying some stupid shit like this. Not only that, he goes on blaming the whole problem on Musharraf. Dude, Mushy is long gone, find another excuse! Personally, I believe this is one of the main reasons we need to kick out the Sharif brothers from Pakistan. All they ever do is cause unnecessary chaos. I mean look at NWFP (North-West Frontier Province). It has been rocked by suicide attacks countless times since the past year and their CM Ameer Haider Khan Hoti still stands strong against the taliban and supports the greater good of the nation. But when Punjab trades one day with NWFP, Shahbaz Sharif goes on begging the taliban for mercy?!? What kind of example is he setting for other politicians? Or more importantly the youth? We all agree he isn't qualified to be in the position in the first place, but can't he just keep his bloody mouth shut. He isn't helping anyone by opening it; in fact he's doing the exact opposite. Thanks to him, now fear has more chances of growing within the Pakistani society then a sense of pride and patriotism. My message to Shahbaz Sharif: Well Done Idiot! What could we ever do without you? -_-

Justice; PCB Style

2010-03-11T14:00:00.005-05:00

Finally the PCB (Pakistan Cricket Board) grew some sense and took action against the growing power and indiscipline of its players. While the power of cricketers had always been a problem; it had never been taken care of. As the punishments go, Shoaib Malik and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan got one year bans. Kamran Akmal, Umar Akmal, and Shahid Afridi each got fined Rs 3 million ($35,000), Rs 2 million ($24,000), and Rs 3 million ($35,000) respectfully. The three also are put in a 6 month probation period. But the shocking part is that Younus Khan and Muhammad Yousaf were also punished. Both were given lifetime bans. They are accused of being a "bad influence" on the team. But before you draw any conclusion you must know that it isn't an official lifetime ban though. The PCB stated that they will call Younus and Yousaf back to the national team whenever PCB thinks they have improved. Until then they can still play county or domestic cricket home or abroad. The trouble officially started earlier this year when Pakistan lost all 9 matches (3 Tests, 5 ODIs, 1 T20) against Australia. While our team looked perfect on paper, it performed like crap on the field. So PCB conducted an inquiry and found out some key players that disturbed and tarnished the Pakistani national team. I think they did the right thing but i also think they are being unfair to Younus and Yousaf. Both players just tried to do what is best for the national team. Under Younus, the problem was there was too much disunity amongst the players (probably caused by Shoaib Malik), and Yousaf just wasn't captain material. However, Most likely they will challenge the ban and even become successful in doing so. Lets just hope all the mess is cleared up before next month; when the Twenty20 World Cup takes place.

[Image: © AFP]

Our Destiny

2010-03-09T14:00:00.012-05:00

With the killing and arrests of over a dozen taliban commanders, the taliban have become an extinct force in Pakistan. Just late last year, they rocked our nation with barbaric suicide attacks that ripped through our nation. They harmed our lives and made it impossible for us to live, the way we wanted to live, in our own country. But today they are on the run and have no land, no support, and barely any force or power left in them. What caused their downfall? Lets just say they messed with the wrong people. In a nation where we don't let political leaders complete their terms in office [Shaukat Aziz being the only exception as he is the only Prime Minister in Pakistani history to complete his term in office] just because we THINK they might not want the best for us, What makes you think we would let some bastards who kill our women and children and attack our masjids to even breathe on our land. We are the descendants of the ruling families of south asia who created and controlled some of the greatest empires this world has ever seen. We will not tolerate any evil or scumbags like the taliban. The taliban might think that the attack on the FIA [Federal Investigation Agency] building in Lahore would weaken our will but they are mistaken; because we are only getting stronger with each scar they give us. We have secured Swat, South Waziristan, Bajaur, and now the city they turned into hell; Peshawar. And we will not stop till every bit of our nation is cleansed from horrific disease. For more than 62 years, we have been searching for the truth, seeking excellence, and beating every threat that comes our way. What makes the taliban think that they, a bunch of misguided infidels, will come in the way of our true destiny. The destiny that Jinnah saw, the destiny that God has planned for us, the destiny that God himself will one day hand to us when we are deserving enough. But until that day comes, no one will be able to dismay us. And we will crush every evil that comes our way; whether it is from the east or the west, or in this case both...

[Image: © AFP Photos]

Faith Restored

2010-02-22T15:07:00.002-05:00

"The man of the hour" Abdul Razzaq saved Pakistan from utter embarrassment and leveled out the t20 series [of 2 matches]with England. He hit a miraculous and extraordinary 48 runs off of 18 balls [equal to 3 overs]. How did he do it? Well hitting 5 sixes really helps make that kind of score! With all the chaos surrounding the PCB [Pakistan Cricket Board] and the Pakistani team's failure in Australia [11 straight loses and no wins]; this win was heaven sent. Although, One may wonder what's in store for Pakistani cricket. With rumors that the national coach will be sacked, the captains will be replaced, and the recent axing of the vice captain from the series against England, one can just pray for the best.With the world cup coming up and the current form of the team, it just makes a die-hard Pakistan fan turn into a nervous wreck. I Hope we can clear all the problems out before the world cup and concentrate on another victorious campaign. But I will have to say that Younus Khan will be missed. His leadership and presence in the team always gave the fans a sense of relief. But no worries, Afridi is an excellent captain and should be able to run a very successful campaign.

[Image © PA Photos]

India Supports Terror

2010-02-19T15:00:00.005-05:00

Today several indian made IEDs were recovered in South Waziristan. IEDs are improvised explosive devices. Called "flowers" by taliban leaders, they are laid on a street or pathway and blow up when a poor civilan or a military personnel steps on them. But how are we so sure they are made by india? Well the IEDs recovered from a suspected militant base in South Waziristan have "Reliance Industries Ltd, Jamnagar, Gujrat, India" printed on them. How obvious can india be?!? Hopefully the army and our government takes advantage of this discovery and delivers the truth about india to the international community. Until then; shame on you india...shame on you!

Pakistan Zindabad

2010-02-07T15:00:00.008-05:00

Our nation is in critical condition right now. This is the first time in Pakistani history that Pakistan is both internally and externally in chaos. Usually corruption is the only problem inside Pakistan, and India the only problem outside. But now it is more than that. Outside, Both Afghanistan and India are Pakistan's problem, as well as the intentions of our "frenemy" (friend and enemy); the United States. Inside, power, gas and sugar shortages are only adds to the chaos. While Karachi is going into flames, the rest of the nation is being rocked by the India supported taliban suicide attacks. And yet with everything going against us we are still strong as a nation and still the most successful country fighting the war on terror. The war on terror is definitely the most expensive war for Pakistan and yet the most rewarding. I mean we get the chance to eliminate the cancer in our society that has being growing in our culture since the early 90s. We have a chance to get rid of the flawed thinking that exists within our society and I see the Pakistani army and the Pakistani public taking full advantage of that. Now that my friend is priceless. For the friends, enemies, and "frenemies" of Pakistan, just remember one thing; no matter how deep shit we get into, we always did and always will find a way back out. You know why? Because Allah will always be on our side.

Pakistan Zindabad

Losing Hope

2010-02-01T15:00:00.008-05:00

Pakistan lost 3 tests and now 5 ODIs against Australia. Very sad, but i didnt see it happening any other way. Yousuf's inability as a captain, the team's dieing chemistry, the poor performances by the "experienced" players, and the most importantly: no desire to win had Pakistan going in no other direction. Throughout the whole series, Pakistan did not try defeat Australia, but rather tried to survive them. You can notice this in the press conferences. Not once did a Pakistani player said that we are going to win this match or sort. All of them were in praise for the Australian team and just talked about how Pakistan is going to survive the tournament. Now a question comes to mind; is Australia that good of a team to crush Pakistan 10-0 in a series [so far]? The answer is no; Pakistan is a just that bad of a team. Not that there is anything wrong with out players, because on paper we have one of the best teams in the world. It's just that one way or another we fail to put that excellence on the field. The lack of direction of the management is also badly affecting the team's performance. The PCB takes the most bizarre and unprofessional actions ever witnessed. Like making Muhammad Yousuf captain, who rejoined the Pakistani team just last summer. Countless other decisions were also taken [you could read them off my previous posts]. So where exactly is the Pakistani team heading? Like always, no one knows for sure. That used to be the exciting part of Pakistani cricket but now it's the saddest part.

The Young Blood

2010-01-28T15:00:00.060-05:00

While the Pakistani cricket team lost all tests and ODIs played against Australia so far, there is another Pakistan team out there that is doing the exact opposite: winning. I'm talking about no other than the Under-19 Pakistani cricket team. Pakistan's U-19 team is so far undefeated in the tournament. Lead by captain Azeem Ghumman, They, through hard work and determination, have now made it to the U-19 world cup final. And the team they are facing in the final is no other than Australia. Bravo for the young Pakistani team! If the they win this cup, it won't be a surprise if some great young players from the team like Babar Azam, Azeem Ghumman, Usman Qadir, and Raza Hasan are picked by the PCB to play for Pakistan at a bigger stage. This success in a way secures the the future of Pakistani cricket but puts the "experienced" players who are currently playing on team into the hotseat. Afridi was recently caught saying to the press that players should start playing for the team and not themselves and that experienced players [Afridi, Younus, Yousuf, and K.Akmal] should be replaced if they are not playing well. This confirms my prediction but will the Pakistani selectors be able to remove their favorite players who are still in the team even though they lack performance? This, like Pakistani cricket, remains unpredictable and something to look forward to. Anyway, All the best to our young blood who will face Australia in The U-19 world cup final on January 30th.

Bhong Masjid

2010-01-26T15:00:00.001-05:00

Bhong Mosque is located in the village of Bhong, Tehsil Sadiqabad in the district of Rahim Yar Khan, in Punjab. It was designed and constructed over a period of 50 years (1932-1982) and won the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 1986. A postal stamp with its picture was issued in May 12, 2004. The masjid is located at the distance of 200 kilometers from Bahawalpur and 50 kilometers from Rahim Yar Khan and is well known for its exquisite design and architectural beauty with gold leaves carved for the intricate decorative patterns and the stylish calligraphic work. Sardar Rais Ghazi Mohammad Indhar, a wealthy landlord, commissioned this mosque in 1932 to be the jewel of his new palace compound, which already included a mosque and a prestigious Madrasa (religious school) and was completed in 1982. Sardar Rais Ghazi Mohammad Indhar, client, designer, patron and landlord conceived, directed and funded the entire building construction. The construction of mosque was carried out by specialists gathered from all over Pakistan and India: master masons from Rajastan, India; craftsmen from Multan for the glazed tile, mosaic and woodwork; and painters and calligraphers from Karachi. Workshops were set up to train craftsmen in skills that had originally been passed from father to son. Materials and crafts used range from the traditional - teak, ivory, marble, colored glass, onyx, glazed tile, fresco, mirrors, gilded tracery, ceramics, calligraphy and inlay - to the modern and synthetic marbled industrial tile, artificial stone facing, terrazzo, colored cement tile and wrought iron. Sardar Rais Ghazi's intention was to represent as many forms of popular craft and as many Islamic religious architectural features as possible. Over the 50 years of its evolution, the Bhong Mosque Complex has generated jobs and trained approximately 1000 workers and craft men in indigenous crafts. Its construction laid an edifice for socio-economic development and provision of basic amenities of life including market roads, schools, electricity, gas, bank, hospital, post office etc, to the local population.

More Pics:

The Indian Conspiracy

2010-01-23T15:00:00.011-05:00

The recent IPL snub of Pakistani cricketers is another attempt of the Indian government to isolate Pakistan from the international eye. It may sound like another conspiracy but it has many events backing it up. The attempts started last year with the Lahore attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team. Indian involvement was suspected and even made public by Lahore's Chief Capital City Police Officer Pervaiz Rathor. Although evidence was found against india, the Pakistani government decided not to point fingers and played down the Indian involvement in the terrorist attack. Later that year, Pressured by India, ICC stripped Pakistan of it's world cup hosting rights because it was considered an "unsafe" venue. Which was quite a surprising move as the rest of the hosting countries were all going through and are going through a conflict. Sri lanka was going through a civil war at the time, Bangladesh had a mutiny between it's forces [and is in chaos most of the time], India later that year had a terrorist attack killing 173 of their citizens and wounding hundreds more, and yet Pakistan was the one considered "unsafe". To his defence, Lalit Modi [the chairman and commissioner of IPL] claims that a quite number of international phenomenons were not selected in the auction as well. Well does the idiot Modi understand how big Pakistan is when it comes to Twenty20?!? We were runners up on the first T20 world cup and are the current world champions! The Lahore Badshahs [the one and only Pakistani ICL cricket team] won the ICL championship and some of it's most successful players were up for auction. Also, Pakistani players are acknowledged worldwide for their excellence in several countries' domestic leagues, most recently Shahid Afridi in the KFC bash in Australia, where he made his team which had lost all hopes reach the final. To further support my belief I have to point out the fact that the IPL in the beginning pleaded for the Pakistani players to join their league and made them go through many obstacles just to get them to be a part of the auction. And for what? For them to be discriminated against by the Indian franchises?!? Or to make the IPL more popular by using the stardom and popularity of the Pakistani cricketers?!? Pakistani players are huge in India [and were even used to advertise the IPL] but the Indian authority doesn't seem to understand that. In my understanding, India's ignorance and stupid behavior against Pakistan will be the cause of their fall in the international limelight.

The picture below displays the character of Lalit Modi, the commissioner and chairman of IPL [The girl is Preity Zinta]

Eternal Happiness

2010-01-21T15:10:00.004-05:00

I was going through some Pakistani blogs and came across such an interesting post [link below] that it inspired my to write this . Although i have spent years of my life studying Pakistani history, lifestyle, and politics, i have always wanted to live there. I'm based in New York [the financial capital of the world] and whenever i tell someone that i want to shift to Pakistan they'll always give me a weird look and say: "why in the world would you wanna do that? there's nothing there!" I would just usually laugh at their statement because in the past years they probably visited or contacted their relatives in Pakistan much more often then i did. What i mean is; There's something about Pakistan that pulls us to it. It may be that it's our culture and religion that makes Pakistan so friendly for us to live in. Or it may also be the fact that as Pakistanis it is our home and no matter where we live in the world we live as Pakistanis; not as Americans or Brits or any other nationality we inherit by documents.Even though Pakistan may be behind most nations in almost every facility that can be offered, a person can live a much happier life in Pakistan. And I mean that in the most un-materialistic fashion. Communities in Pakistan thrive because they are very close [relatives most of the time] and every one eventually interacts with one another. In the western world, every searches for success and money and most of the important decisions they make in life they overpower materialistic goods [like money] over something that can give them everlasting happiness such as love. I'm not saying that doesn't happen in Pakistan but it happens much less. There you go ladies and gentlemen, These are my reasons to go back home; Thought of yours yet?

Joy In Pakistan: Five Rupees

Khunjerab National Park

2010-01-20T15:00:00.002-05:00

Khunjerab National Park is a National park located in Khunjerab [Northern Areas]. It is one of the highest altitude parks in the world. It provides the habitat for a number of endangered and threatened animal species like the Snow leopard, Marco Polo sheep, and Himalayan Ibex.

More Pics:

No Performers, Just Favorites

2010-01-18T15:00:00.004-05:00

The fact that the Pakistani cricket team hasn't won a test match in the last 4 years is not that shocking. In the Pakistan cricket team there always have been favorites instead of people who cannot perform. For example, Misbah Ul Haq. His performance in the game has failed to impress anyone for the last 2 years and yet he was included in the test team against Australia. Same goes for Kamran akmal; the wicketkeeper who drops more catches than the fielders. Although some fresh blood has been introduced to the team over the past year who made quite an impact [Mohammad Aamir, and Umar Akmal,] but it's the senior players that always seem to find a way to mess up. Make it Salman Butt, Muhammad Yousaf, Kamran Akmal, or even Faisal Iqbal. We need more people like Umar Gul, who do what they have to do on the field and not come to the press room with a big mouth. Also Muhammad Yousaf should stop trying to put the blame on other people and bring the team together in terms of performance. That way he'll be atleast half the captain Younus was. It's very unfortunate to say that the failure of the Pakistani cricket team is caused by no one but themselves.