That's Wrong!

Brigadier Ali to be court martialled

2012-02-12T12:41:00.001+05:00

The Pakistani army is about to start court martial proceedings against Brigadier Ali Khan. The brigadier was alleged to have links with a banned organisation, the Hizbul Tehrir. He was arrested on May 6, 2011 from the premises of his office in GHQ.
The brigadier's arrest is the biggest and only achievement of the Pakistan army, who is fighting militants of banned organisations in tribal areas and Balochistan and at the same time battling with the American accusations that Pakistan army is in league with the insurgents of its liking aka Haqqani network. Perhaps, when the Pakistani army will start its much-desired dialogue with the banned outfits, it may use the connections and expertise of Brigadier Ali.

The second most daring achievement of the army "fighting the war on terror" is the arrest of one Dr Shakeel Afridi. The doctor is in custody of security agencies for his alleged role in tracking down Osama Bin Laden in Abottabad.
Lured by the US stick (mostly) and carrot (rarely) policy, the whole Pakistani establishment had vowed to track down the Al Qaeda chief. What the army and its intelligence agencies failed to do with unlimited resources, this daring doctor accomplished with a very few staff and a little budget. Instead of conferring some award on the doctor, he has been detained. We will never learn to appreciate our mentors.

Memorable rain

2012-02-03T21:57:00.002+05:00

It is drizzling here today. Whenever it rains and I reflect on my past, a particular rain stands out in my memory. It was drizzling and I was about to get out of my car in the parking of the session court in Jhelum. Two clients approached me. One was a man in his middle age whose pregnant wife was in jail and we wanted her released on bail.
The other client was a British-Pakistani woman. Her daughter had wrapped her arms around her mother's neck and was starring at some distant thing. The woman's husband was also in jail in a murder case. I felt sorry for the two. It took me five minutes to listen them and brief them. Meanwhile, the rain took pace. When I sat in my car, the music system was playing this song.

Every word from this song hit some chord in me. I am very bad at understanding songs, but the condition and saddened looks on the faces of the clients made me understand each word. The man's wife was released on bail. The woman's husband is still in jail. And that rainy day is etched in my memory.

Maya Khan fired

2012-01-28T22:05:00.002+05:00

Samaa television's morning show host Maya Khan has been fired. A hectic online campaign has forced the television channel management to fire her after she along with some bored housewives ‘raided’ a public park in Karachi and questioned couples about their marital status. The Pakistani online community condemned her actions. She tried to save her skin by halfheartedly apologising about her action. The people at large rejected her "smiling" and "non serious" apology saying that she lacks the courage to admit her fault.

Open letter to Maya Khan

2012-01-27T21:12:00.002+05:00

Dear Maya Khan.

We knew that you were not a pious lady. We were aware of your dull boring love life. We even knew the reason why boys did not look at you. Your desperation was justified, but we never knew that you would expose your desperation to the whole world.
You go to exclusive night clubs and shake your flab. You try hard to grab a boy but your other desperate friends compete and often win. You so much hated smart beautiful girls that you only befriend other fatties like you.
We were even aware that you feel very uncomfortable in your dresses because of your obesity. Remember, you always wore dresses with vertical strips to look a little less fat than you are. We tolerated your alleged attempts to dance when you try to shake your body parts.
Your fondness about sitting on tables having alcoholic beverages was also not a secret, but we kept quit. We wanted to share your picture wearing a white camisole under a see-through shirt, but we kept quit.
Your cleavage on many (upper class) functions was deeper than the cleavages of (lower and middle class) girls we found in parks, but we kept quite. Some of us (the rare breed of humans that like big beautiful women ) wanted to discuss your deep creamy cleavage on social networking sites but didn’t dare.
Despite of our respect towards your privacy, you violated ours. You chased us in the parks. We feel comfortable in the public parks as our hormones don’t force us to cross all limits unlike you who go out with boys in dark, shady places and get drunk and get lost.
We only holds hands in the park unlike you who hug males and do not miss any chance to flaunt your cleavage and feel other people’s hands on your ample flabby curves.
We visit the parks during day unlike you who go out at night. We spend nights with our families and mothers unlike you who return home during the early hours of morning after spending the night at a friend’s friend’s place whose name you even don’t know.
We always sleep in our beds, but you have slept in more bedrooms than you can count or remember.
Our girls who visit parks cover themselves enough not to get unnecessary attention from other people, but you would do anything to show more skin to catch a boy.
We go to the park as couples, but you go to parties desperately wanting to become a couple. The beverages we drink in the parks are easily readily available everywhere unlike the ones found on your table. And not to mention our dresses which we can wear everywhere unlike yours.
Dear Maya, we kept quite to protect your privacy but you didn’t reciprocate. You are one hypocrite desperate rejected girl. Your every move negates your earlier stance. Hence this open letter to you. Do not come to our parks again.

The BBW lover.

Akhri Shab Kay Hamsafar

2012-01-22T08:59:00.001+05:00

No one can hear a serene noise from the horses' hooves tapping on a paved road and no one can trap the time in the maze of saree fabric except Qurutulain Haider (fondly called Ainy Apa).
Written in the backdrop of Bengal of 1942 when political awareness against the British rule was at its peak, Akhri Shab Kay Hamsafar by Haider, explores every possible social strand that people can experience in such times. The story revolves around six young people who work for the socialist cause. These six people are young ambitious students who want to bring end to the imperial rule. The story explores the upper and middle class of the Bengal and problems facing them.
I have never seen any Urdu writer with such a strong command on story telling and a prolific attitude towards her work. The characters in the novel undergo a smooth transition. Yasmeen, who is the daughter of a narrow minded Maulvi sahib, becomes a dancer, marries a British person in the UK. Being a gay, her husband ditches her for a male and leaves her with a daughter. Yasmeen goes from stardom to oblivion that is obvious for most artists. Her daughter, whom she was unable to feed and up-bring, later turns into a nude model.
The transitions in the lives of all the characters are grave but very realistic. Haider's prose make you sway with it. She has not left any angle of life unexplored that young ambitious people have to encounter in their lives - crushes, love life, teenage romances, break ups, unforgettable first love and compromise with the life. Haider's over-ambitious characters in the novel, who do not even dare to throw bombs on the ruling English elite in the Bengal, learn to compromise with their lives.
The beauty in Haider's approach is that her characters are eternal in context of the Subcontinent. This novel contains one character which is ideal for every reader. The characters don’t hide their social decadence either from their friends or readers. With a very deep observation and equally strong expression, Haider takes her readers along the story line of her novel.
Without any melodrama and sensation, the novel covers the life of at least three generations who somehow keep meeting similar social tragedies. Young women sacrifice their loves for their female friends. Materialism forces young characters in the novel to ditch their ideology. The best thing about this novel is that it touches the partition of the sub continent without any bloodshed. This is the first book that have saved me from the gory details of the bloodshed in the wake of the partition.
The novel also explores the budding economic and political life in the divided Sub-continent. I will recommend this novel to all those who claim to be over ambitious. Being an over ambitious person, I have learnt and unlearnt a lot from it. This novel will shatter the social ideology that the reader is nurturing in his or her mind.

Why emotional see offs

2012-01-21T19:37:00.002+05:00

I visited the Islamabad airport today to drop my uncle. Like always, I did a lot of social observation there. I was wondering that why people see off each other emotionally at airports when they have spent such a nice and memorable time together. The logical conclusion that the cold wind and a lot of waiting helped me reach was that they weep fearing future tragedies that may have to cope with alone thousand of miles away from their loved ones. You never know who will not be alive on your next trip to Pakistan and you will only have years old memory to recall.

Media hunger and speculation

2012-01-14T22:22:00.000+05:00

When reporters do not get information, they speculate. The harder they are deprived of the information, the harder they speculate. Since politicians in Pakistan always deny the truth, reporters just reverse politicians' statement and make a speculative story out of it which often proves true. "We will arrest Musharraf on his return" becomes "Musharraf will not be arrested".

How to win election on CD-70

2012-01-10T20:12:00.000+05:00

Two of my uncles, who are brothers, have won the union council elections consecutively for two terms. The two are very alien to local politics - one spent his life in the UK and other was a businessman. However, their third brother is a politician. Their style of election campaign is unique. The brother who is contesting the election runs from corner to corner to hold meetings. The third brother remains in hibernation till the last week of the election. Three days prior to the election, he would get a Honda CD-70 (a four stroke motorcycle popular for its fuel efficiency) and sacks of currency notes. He would visit all those areas where people from low-income bracket reside, and distribute money. His ‘investment’ has never let his brothers down.
Being from the minority clan, they have twice defeated the candidates of the majority clan. The democracy that we want to see flourishing in Pakistan will never be possible unless we educate the people and improve their economic condition. The educated class should make illiterate people realise that their vote is powerful and priceless.

Recalling PTI election of 1997

2012-01-01T21:00:00.000+05:00

My father contested the general election on the ticket of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) in 1997. It was the first election of the PTI and the party lost all the seats. My dad bagged around 3,000 votes which were highest among the PTI candidates in Punjab.
The election taught my father many things. My father quit the active politics after that. The election campaign made a severe dent on our financial condition. We spent the money on campaign very wisely but still the campaign cost us around Rs 2 millions - most of it was the debt which my family returned during the next several years. We enforced budgetary cuts on everything in our home except our education.
The PTI was the most unpopular party. The Jew-lobby propaganda affected it badly. Wherever my father held a meeting, people demanded clarifications on it. One of my father's friends, former Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) president Hamid Khan, also contested the election and lost it. Hamid Khan is still one of the leading personalities in the PTI, but many vanguards like my father quit the politics after the 1997 elections. The current SCBA president Yaseen Azad also ran the election. He has disclosed his political affiliation with the PTI in a recent interview. He has also quit the general politics.
We observed the mindset of ordinary Pakistanis about the democracy during the campaign.
Often people, holding a few dozens national identity cards of local people, would visit my father and offer him to buy the cards. My father didn't accept that, but his opponent - far richer than him - bought them. This practice is still prevalent today. Rich candidates buy the cards of their opponent's potential voters, preventing them from casting their votes. Money is also distributed among the potential voters to keep them faithful. Often a voter sells his vote to all the contesting candidates.
People having influence over 20 or so people, start behaving like king makers. They demand money from the candidate on the pretext of opening an election office or holding a corner meeting in their area. These people start pressing the candidate soon after his candidature is announced. Nothing discourages honest and upright people form running the elections than this public mindset. And this mindset is responsible when Air Marshal (r) Asghar Khan loses elections to a person far inferior than Khan's character, but far richer than Khan.

Scholarship and assessing potential

2012-01-01T07:16:00.004+05:00

Napoleon started taking a large number of artistes, scientists and engineer to his expeditions. The technical staff in his army would assess the agricultural and economic potential of the recently conquered territory. Napoleon also started acquiring art from the people of such territories as a war bounty in addition to cash and gold.
The English had a different procedure. They would send geologist and such experts in advance in the garb of tourists to their would-be colonies. English did the mapping of the subcontinent years before the arrival of the East India company in the Subcontinent.
Things have changed. Now the rich countries give scholarships to experts of the country of their interest. These experts write their thesis on various issues concerning their countries, increasing the assessment of their host countries manifold. I am not against such scholarships, instead I appreciate their quest for knowledge.

Lawyers, politcians and cocks

2011-12-29T20:20:00.001+05:00

Two lawyers were arguing a case in a court. The opponent parties, who were from a same village, were also seated at the back of the courtroom. Two men from the opponent sides were sitting together. They were not directly related with the outcome of the case, and were giving a running commentary.
When the lawyer from one side would raise a point in a high tone, one of the men would say that this lawyer has a killing bite that would damage the other party. If the other lawyer would rebut the point raised, the men would say that the other lawyer has got a stronger bite. The men were commenting on the lawyers as if they were two cocks fighting in a cock-fight.
Pakistani nation expects its politicians to fight like dogs. And the cunning politicians have realised the people’s weakness. From yelling in talk shows to calling names in public rallies - they leave no opportunity to entertain the people.
A journalist friend from Express News, who was seeing the archives of Pakistani newspapers, commented that poetry and Punjabi-stage-drama-styled sarcasm has always remained popular in politicians and high in demand among the people.

Not so proper farewell to Javed Hashmi

2011-12-28T21:59:00.002+05:00

One can count on fingers politicians like Javed Hashmi in Pakistan. He remained in jail for his principles for almost a decade. His political career is not tainted with corruption allegations and he talks sense most of the time.
Without badmouthing policies or leaders of his former party, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), he joined the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI). The PML-N leadership has failed to give a proper farewell to their party's most loyalist parliamentarian. Hashmi, who paid tribute to the workers of the PML-N in his address at the PTI Karachi rally, is facing criticism.
This criticism is not coming from his former colleagues but family members of the PML-N leadership. Hamza Shahbaz and Captain (r) Safdar, both son and son-in-law, respectively, of PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif has criticised Hashmi's defection is a very degrading way.

Always a rebel!

Addressing a press conference in Peshawar, Captain Safdar, whose only claim to fame is his love marriage with the daughter of Nawaz Sharif, has said, "If Hashmi had mentioned this before, we could have collected Rs10 million for him in alms from Peshawar alone." The whole nation knows that if Hashmi was up for sale, Musharraf would have bought him. When the whole Nawaz Sharif family accepted exile instead of facing the trial, Hashmi faced it bravely. I wonder how Captain Safdar has forgotten the history so quickly. Safdar's statement is quite shameful for him.
Hamza Shahbaz was the first to criticise Hashmi, saying the PML-N is not affected by anyone leaving the it.
These two statements are enough to damage the PML-N's public image, which has been maintained by a group of senior journalists headed by Pervez Rashid. A proper farewell to Hashmi by the PML-N leadership would have lifted the PML-N's image.

Questions everyone asks about Imran Khan

2011-12-27T21:36:00.003+05:00

I avoid political discussions with strangers. I remain silent when I have to say no and nod my head for a yes. Whenever someone knows that I am a lawyer or had been a journalist, he asks me the following questions about Imran Khan.

Why Imran Khan is welcoming 'corrupt' politicians: You will hear this question everywhere. I was attending a marriage today and someone overhearing my discussion with my cousin asked the same. I told the person that if he does not join the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) and run the election, then who will contest the election? The politicians joining the party, he replied.

Imran Khan has no policy: How can Imran Khan give a policy when he is not in a position to give a policy. Policies are formed and implemented when one is in the power and not when one is in the street rallying for elections.

Everyone joining Tehreek-e-Insaaf is corrupt: Not everyone in Pakistan is a saint.

Will Imran Khan pave my street if I vote for him: No. Just pray that he comes in the power and implements the rule of law. Pakistan badly needs the rule of law. Your unpaved street does not figure out among challenges facing Pakistan.

Ben Ten, Shias and young kid

2011-12-01T19:29:00.001+05:00

My 8-year-old brother heard my sister telling about her Shia friend's absence from her class because of a majalis (mourning meeting). The word Shia got stuck in his mind and he started asking me who is a Shia person. I tried to find an answer but miserably failed. I texted two Shia friends. Only one replied, sarcastically asking me to tell the young child the definition of Shia by Shipa-e-Sahaba (a banned religious outfit that wants extermination of Shias). When I demanded an serious definition of Shia for an 8-year-old child, my friend also expressed his inability and suggested how about asking the boy about new Ben Ten stuff in the shopping mall near his school. The change in the topic tricked my brother and he started telling me about new Ben Ten toys in the market. Now we will visit the shopping mall to buy those toys. Ben Ten has saved me from a difficult question. Let's hope some other fancy toy saves me in next Muharram.

More depressing news

2011-11-27T08:45:00.001+05:00

This week has been very depressing for me because my teacher from NUCES-FAST, Professor Arif Khattak, has become a schizophrenia patient. He has given his daughter access to his facebook account, announcing he is leaving us. The disease is so severe that it even kills hope in the friends and relatives of the patient. Professor Arif remained associated with science institutions but he was man of social sciences. His anecdotes in lectures were the reason I quit FAST and did social sciences (BA and LLB). He would go out of the way to guide his students. I once wanted to know about Parsi writer Bapsi Sidhwa. Sir Arif wrote an email to none but Ardeshir Cowasjee, asking him to guide this scribe. I feel sorry for Sir Arif’s wife and daughter Sana Arif. And I feel really bad to have written about him in past sentence. I even tried to meet him after 12 years, but he was going to his hometown. My Bad.

The second depressing news is that one more friend (Jon Haider) has opted to leave Pakistan and settle in Amsterdam. He has just planned to two-year stay there but ultimately he will not return. Not a month passes when a friend updates his facebook status or location. I don’t expect this brain drain of more than 60 years to stop in my life. May be my grandchildren will get to see the grand children of my facebook friends who left Pakistan.

I fear more depressing Saturday evenings.

Saving money and losing life

2011-11-19T20:05:00.001+05:00

Two young men were lying on the road. Their motorbike was also lying nearby. Apparently the boys tried to make a u-turn from an unauthorized place and were hit by a speeding vehicle. I reached at the spot seconds after the accident. One passerby was jump-crossing the divider to give first-aid. One of the accident victims was lying on the road with his arms and feet tensed as if he is still driving the motorbike. When the passerby lifted him, a thick dark reddish jelly like substance (the brain matter) was dripping from his head and had pooled on the ground. The guy had died even before knowing the cause of his death. His brain was dead before it could send any signal to his muscles. The other victim was also lying senseless. That was the most tragic road scene I have ever witnessed. I was on my way to Lahore from Jhelum to appear in a personal case.

Double barrel shotgun is the ultimate field gun

2011-11-15T20:08:00.001+05:00

A hunting field is a different challenge to a shotgun than a trap or skeet range. In clay bird shooting, you will take you shotgun in a soft bag, the range staff will take your gun out of the box before the shooting. You shoot a good number of shots and ask about other people about the recoil of their guns. When you are done, you place your gun on a table lying nearby which has a smooth platform to prevent any scratches on the gun finish. The range staff comes and cleans your gun with WD-40 before putting it back in the gun carry bag. The staff carefully removes your 3000 PKR fiber optic sight and puts it in some side pocket. You place your bag in the car’s back seat and drive home.
In a hunting field, you have to walk a long distance. You realize that walking along the gun makes you breathless. You have to put the gun on soil many times to retrieve the game. Sometimes you place the gun with its stock on the ground and barrel supported against a tree trunk. The barrel slips and the gun falls on the ground, adding a couple of scratches on the wood. Field is very hostile environment. A field gun should always be less vulnerable to elements in the field. Your fiber optic bead becomes too much of a hassle than a utility in the field. You will either loose it in the field or break it.
A field gun should be light weight. Your Baikal MP 153, weighing around 4 K.G. with magazine extender becomes too heavy for your shoulders and arms. You envy other hunters who are carrying feather light double barrel guns. In short, Baikal MP 153 is not a field gun. Its good for water fowling or upland hunting with decoys but certainly a no no when you have to walk a long distance in the field.

What's wrong with journalists discrediting Imran Khan

2011-11-05T19:01:00.000+05:00

A certain section of the media has started giving negative coverage to Imran Khan's political rally in Lahore. All sorts of comments - ranging from Imran Khan being a novice in "real politics" of Pakistan to his too much belief in himself - have been given in various opinion pieces. Veteran journalist Najam Sethi in his recent article in The Friday Times has questioned Imran Khan's political prospects.
Before the Lahore rally, Najam Sethi and many other journalist like him never considered Imran Khan a serious political force. Sethi, although very good in analysing Pakistan's social and political atmosphere, failed to foresee Khan's popularity. In many of his television shows, Sethi has declared the PML-N the only political force in central Punjab and ruled out any future prospects for Imran Khan. Other journalists also shared this view.
However, the PTI's Lahore rally on October 30, 2011, negated all prevailing opinions about Khan's popularity and embarrassed the opinion makers. This negative media coverage is nothing except you-are-right-but-I-am-also-correct approach.

PTI rally versus PML-N rally

2011-10-30T19:03:00.000+05:00

I can I will! courtesy AFP.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf’s (PTI) mass congregation at Minar-e-Pakistan is the largest by all social and politcal standards of Pakistan. The PTI is a 15-year-old budding party, who has never been in the power not even in the opposition in the elected houses. The PTI has arranged 50,000 seats for the people. These seats were filled several hours before the congregation started. Various media assessments state the number of audience around 70,000 people in the PTI rally.

This number is huge when all these people come on their own. On the other hand, the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz used all unfair means to gather people in their rally two days ago. All the government departments, revenue officials and bureaucracy were ordered to bring buses laden with people carrying party flags and banners. The bureaucracy in Gujranwala alone arranged 400 buses to fill the PML-N’s Lahore rally. However, all the people in the PTI congregation came on their own, paid their own fare, ordered the party flags themselves. When Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) fills its rallies by threat, the PML-N owes its large political gatherings to Patwaris (revenue officials), the PTI’s Lahore congregation is mammoth because it was filled in by the people of Pakistan.

Wedding which humiliated guests

2011-09-11T22:12:00.000+05:00

I recently attended a wedding reception at Topi Rakh auditorium in Rawalpindi. The reception was hosted by a retired army colonel with a very large public contact.
The retired colonel has a rural back ground, of which he and his wife have never been proud of. There were two types of sitting arrangements for the guests. The guests from the rural areas were made to sit in a tent without air-conditioning and those from the army background were entertained in an air-conditioned hall.
The retired colonel was directing each guest to sit either in the tent or in the hall. As a result, all the people wearing suits and with stiff upper lips gathered in the hall and those wearing turbans and shalwar kameez sat in the tent.
I sat in the hall and went to the tent after finishing my meal. When I went inside the tent, I was shocked to see the people, which the retired colonel have declared unfit for air-conditioned hall or the VIP service. Some of them were politicians with a lot of fan following, some were landlords and some were social workers. It was humid and suffocating in the tent.
It was quite a humiliating experience for all of those sitting in the tent. Later on, it rained heavily and the tent did very little to shelter the people and crashed after sometime.
Almost everyone in the wedding was condemning the colonel's social sense.

Quotable Quote

2011-08-19T22:01:00.001+05:00

Always pray that God saves you from single, unmarried or divorced boss because he/she is unable to understand problems facing subordinates with happy married lives. -Dr Inam Danish

Concealed carry weapons (CCW) in Pakistan

2011-08-18T23:59:00.003+05:00

While browsing the internet, I came across this excellent article on how to carry a concealed weapon. The article has summed up the subject into five simple rules.

Your concealed weapon is for protection of life only: Don't be a bragger and a show-off. A concealed carry weapon (CCW) is never meant to be shown to people to deter them. Don't use it for any purpose other than saving your life or that of some innocent person.

Know exactly when you can use your weapon: Use your CCW only to avoid a deadly threat. The rule of thumb is that a criminal adversary must have ability, opportunity and the intent to cause you serious bodily harm. A brawl on traffic signal is not a threat PERIOD.

If you can run away safely, RUN, by all means: I know you want to kill some bad-ass hooligan with your Rs 50K CCW, but if you can avoid the bass-ass guy by just running away, run.

Display your weapon and go to jail: A CCW weapon is not for display. You have to carry it CONCEALED. If a citizen sees you totting a gun and trotting in his/her street, he/she is justified to tell the police about the 'armed intruder' in the street. In Pakistan, the police will always corner you for not having all documentation concerning conceal carry. So why give someone an opportunity to put you in trouble with law because you didn't have a carry permit.

Don't let your emotion to get best of you: A person with a CCW has to be more rationale, logical and cool minded. He should be able to speak yourself out of troubles and quarrels. You should avoid creating confrontations that may end up into violence. Your emotions - except fear - should never instigate you to draw your CCW.

Why autoloader and not o/u

2011-08-14T21:23:00.000+05:00

I have a Russian autoloader (Baikal MP-153 or Remington SPR 453). I regularly shoot clays with it and sometimes go dove hunting. The gun has never let me down. I have observed the following reasons to prefer an autoloader over an over/under shotgun.

1. Less recoil: The recoil of an ordinary autoloader is and will always be less than that of an expensive over/under shotgun. No amount of advanced technology in an o/u shotgun can reduce the recoil which an autoloading shotgun naturally reduces by virtue of its cycling operation.

2. Single point of aim: The single point of impact (POI) is another great benefit of an autoloader. The shooter knows the point where all his shots are going to land. In an o/u there are two points of impact corresponding to a single point of aim (POA). A person shooting an o/u has to do a lot of calculation before placing the shot and a lot of analysis after missing the target. The autoloader gives you an ease as there is only one POI corresponding to the POA.

3. Adjusting shot volume: Shot volume is the ratio of pellets above and below the target. 60/40 shot volume means 60 percent of the pellets are above the target and 40 are below. You can adjust the shot volume of an autoloader to your desire (even to 100/0 in case of adjusting it for trap), but doing the same with an o/u is impossible because changing the shot volume of one barrel will disturb the shot volume of the other barrel.

4. POA is same as POI: In autoloaders, the POA is always the POI whereas in an o/u shotgun POA is not always the POI. In an over/under shotgun, each barrel has its own POI. A person shooting an o/u has to juggle with one POA and two POI.

5. Magazine capacity: Autoloader wins hands down. Some autoloaders have a magazine capacity of 11 cartridges.

All is not bad with Zardari

2011-08-05T06:01:00.003+05:00

Asif Ali Zardari: All is not that bad with me!

Every politician in the third world shares a few traits. He is largely known to be corrupt, nepotistic and incapable of holding his office. President Asif Ali Zardari shares more than this. He has faced victimization of the worst order. He was kept behind the bars by judges and laws motivated by his opponents, the Sharifs.
There is a severe media campaign going on against him. A section of the media is bent upon portraying him as a political villain. President Zardari on the other hand is least concerned about his image in the media. He rarely bothers to help recall people about the sacrifices he has rendered. The only sacrifice a third-world politician renders is by going to jail for his principles. Zardari remained in jail for more than ten years. He was released when subsequent governments during this time period failed to prosecute him on any one of the many charges framed against him. This chapter of Zardari’s life seems to be forgotten from the media memory.
The Sharifs, Zardari’s chief opponents, are behind this media campaign which starts with the digging of some old corruption scam and ends with mobile texts calling Zardari a dog. What further annoys Zardari’s opponents is his no-response to this vicious campaign.
The Sharif’s bitterness against Zardari also stems from Zardari’s political maneuvering in which he has outdone the Sharifs many times. Jail is the best teacher and lessons learnt from there are never forgotten. The Sharifs are no match to Zardari’s political shrewdness despite having employed a large number of people to assist them in running the affairs of their party, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).
Zardari’s critiques and the fans of the Sharifs have never realised that what made Zardari opt for jail and what lured the Sharifs in accepting a deal whereby they lived a luxurious life in Saudi Arabia.
Zardari and the Sharif were well aware of the comforts and amenities of rich life style before landing in hot waters. They both commanded mass political support. What urged the Sharifs to leave the country under a deal, compelled Zardari to remain behind the bars and suffer worst political victimisation.
Zardari and his party did another daring thing which the Sharifs cannot even dream of. He owned the war on terror and paid a heavy price. He lost his wife, a governor and a minister to this war. He made a coalition partnership with the ANP who has a strong stance against terrorism in Pakistan, something the PML-N would never do. The Sharifs on the other hand never made any public statement to own this war or condemn the use of the religion by terrorists.
There is another accusation against the PPP government that it has failed to deliver. Any coalition government in a third world country, facing the bloodiest wave of terrorism, financial crisis, a growing price tag of war against terrorism, would have done no better.
The only thing not well with Zardari is his attitude towards his public image. How can he be worst than all Pakistani politicians when he shares all their traits and spent a decade in jail over charges that were never proved against him.

Media should spare courts in Pakistan

2011-07-19T18:47:00.002+05:00

State was the only opponent, which defence counsels used to argue their cases against. Now they have to argue it against the media as well.
The first ‘official’ duty that staff perform early in the morning in courts is to place newspapers in judges’ retiring rooms. As a result, judges are already opinionated about the crimes in their respective districts before they even sit in courts, courtesy of crime reports in these newspapers. The argument of defence counsel has very little to influence in judges’ mind because the media has already argued the case well in prosecution’s favour even before the court time starts.
Among things that senior lawyers tell associate lawyers everyday in bar rooms is that “a judge speaks through his judgments” and “a good judge does not read newspaper”. Contrary to these modern legal proverbs, now judges have started speaking through the media and have voraciously started reading newspapers.
This scribe once went to congratulate a lawyer who was elevated to the Lahore High Court. After exchanging pleasantries, the lawyer-turned judge told this scribe that how his staff showed him the clipping of a BBC newsreport which contained the judge’s name. The judge was visibly very happy over his dutiful staff, the true report and the credibility of the B.B.C. A great deal of time was spent discussing the report, which speaks volume about the importance judges pay to their portrayal in the media.
Now judgments have stopped speaking, instead breaking news and scrolling text at the bottom of television screen speak louder than judgments. And these hastily-run media reports often confuse viewers because people in the media know a little about procedural laws in Pakistan.
A growing tendency is also witnessed among complainant parties to approach local journalists to get favourable reports published a day before the decision of the bail or the case. Now the judge has to keep in mind the merits of the case and the monstrous public opinion which has been formed after the publication of that report.
The adjective-laden media reports make the society, including judges, biased against accused. When the whole country has seen a media report about the “killers”, no judge can judiciously apply his mind in the case. The foremost thought on his mind would be what would people think if he acquits the “killer”. Many innocent people are condemned just because the judges can’t tolerate the public pressure.
Just remember how much fuss the media created when a minor girl servant died in a prominent lawyer’s home in Lahore’s defence housing authority. Live reports were aired and after a few days of sensation, the media forgot about the issue as it had never happened. The media declared the lawyer, who was a former president of the Lahore Bar Association, guilty even before the police investigation completed.
In most Western countries, the media can’t even name the suspects or accused before the trial is over. In the UK, there is a growing trend of getting media injunctions wherein the media is barred from commenting, reporting or discussing a subjudice case. Superior courts sometimes also issue super injunctions wherein the media is barred from discussing, commenting or reporting the subjudice case and even the injunction itself.
In Pakistan, things are different. The media has set up a permanent corner outside the apex court where lawyers address it before and after the court session. My friends in the media would testify that only a handful of lawyers refuse to comment on the media because the matter is subjudice whereas a majority of them is happy and willing to discuss the whole case before television cameras. Why people argue their cases before the media when they have approached courts in this regard?
This trend is likely to go unchecked, unless some sane voices among bar, bench and the media realise the damage it is doing to our judicial system. The bar needs to arrange workshops for reporters where they should be informed about legal ethics, right of accused and how media’s commentary on a case may jeopardise its decision.
The superior courts in our country need to issue some guidelines to the media in this regard. They also need to realise and tell subordinate judicial officers about the insignificance media reports, which can portray black as white one day and vice versa the other day.
With due respect to our friends in the media, we cannot deny that the bar and the bench owe a lot to the media because of its unquestioning support for the judicial restoration movement. However, journalists have to realise that suspense and law can’t co-exist. The media can cash in on its ability to create suspense somewhere other than courts. The media is the real power in the world, but reporters should spare courts from their sensational skills because “the freedom of the press means two things: freedom from the press and freedom for the press”.