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Ban it

People have such little regard for their personal freedom - when they do not like something on TV and films they start making calls for  banning it. If not not entirely banning it - seek to have it censored. What they forget are the people who do not find it offensive or are curious to know about it. Not wanting to watch something, is a personal choice but it is not something which should apply to others. Just because they feel in a certain - does not necessarily mean that others feel exactly the same way. Some go along with the condemnation of books, films and TV shows - because they do not want to be seen as separate from the rampaging crowd, lest they become a target. Because of this attitude the government sets up organisations which censor everything the public sees the most fundamental of liberties - freedom of expression is gone. It is dangerous. Because when the government starts making mistakes, there is no one telling it what it started doing wrong. Those who report ...

Delayed justice

I suppose nowhere in the world are courts closed for 'summer vacations' as they are in Pakistan. Courts are closed for two long months. For that reason cases pile up by the end of those two months.  The number of judges are few and the number of cases run for into hundreds at times., every single day. Court sessions are only  from 9.30 AM to 1.30 PM with a tea break in between.  The cases which are not heard on that day are given a new date or never given any. The lawyer has to get a new date provided a judge is available.  Before any case can have its day in court - it has to be registered - the registrar is a very powerful person he can choose to reject a case if he wants to. After the case is registered - the bailiff takes his time to send the case to the respondents.  The respondents hire their lawyers who prepare a reply. When the reply is sent a rebuttal is sent.  There is such a thing called Katchi Peshi - meaning rough presentation of the case - i...

Pakistan's telecommunication business

For decades in Pakistan telephone connections was the purview of the government. These were given on priority basis. Ordinary people who were in no particular field could not get a telephone connection for years. The procedure had tremendous red tape.  Strangely enough the application was addressed to the president of Pakistan, as if he had nothing better to do than approve telephone connections. It was some time later that civil servants realised that telephone connection was not privilege but a business like any other. The PTCL was apparently 'privatised' but it remained a monopoly. Land connections belonged to only one organisation namely PTCL and no other company 26% shares belong to Etisalat Telecommunications instead of allowing private Pakistani companies own. it. The rest of PTCL is still owned by the government. In all fairness privatisation should have meant that PTCL's different operations should have been sold to different Pakistani companies.  There should n...

Acid attack on women

The film 'Saving Face' won an Oscar Award. But the the question about who is  really responsible for the acid attacks on women. Women have been mentioned very categorically. The problem is why has no one heard of men being attacked in the same way? The number of places such attacks take place in the red light areas. Any prostitute is beautiful and is a source of attraction to the majority of men  - such a woman is taking business away from other brothels and this affects them. What they do in retaliation is throw acid on those prostitutes. When those women are scarred - the men will visit other brothels. The business is a nasty one. The brothel in which the women are scarred retaliate by doing the same to the prostitutes belonging to other brothels. This is one aspect. Women vehemently hate each other and are very jealous of one another. Immediately after marriage - a man has to shift to a new place with his wife. Because his wife cannot get along with her mother in law and ...

The ever growing Pakistan middle class

The development of middle class - was a result of several forces.  The concept of a middle class, rather the middle class being a force to be reckoned with was not realised. It is easy to rule a country - if there are only two classes - the rich and the poor. The rich rule the poor obey. The cliché term 'widening gap' between the rich and the poor' which the pseudo-intellectuals have used - would apply if there was no such things as a middle class. The existence of the middle class negates such perceptions. When Pakistan  came into existence - the middle class was small - it comprised mainly of civil servants.  There were doctors and lawyers - as time went by retired military officers joined the ranks of the middle class. Instead of people plunging into abject poverty - people floated to the surface to form the middle class. With large number of labour moving to the oil rich countries and returning - they started settling in cities  - initially Karachi became fir...

Bacha bazi and Western values

http://www.newjustice.net/blog/2010/09/13/bacha-bazi/ When the Afghans were fighting the Soviet Union, they were  best allies of the the ' Free World'.   Their religion was supported and their way of life was never questioned. However after the defeat of the Soviet Union in 1988 - Afghanistan was implicated in an act of terrorism and attacked by the USA and its allies (the invaders) 2001. This war not only involved having soldiers and hi-tech weapons in Afghanistan, it involved starting a propaganda war. The faith of the Afghans down to their way of life started being questioned. A campaign started that the people of Afghanistan are against the freedom of the West.  A tradition which has been around since time immemorial of boys used for sexual purposes. Even  Alexander the Great and his army got caught up in it. Invaders have been defeated in Afghanistan. A leading reason is the feminising of the soldiers. Any soldier would never happy to rejoin fellow soldiers...