Karachi Metblogs » kar_henna

Currently here…

kar_henna — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 16:35:05 +0000

There’s a three day mourning announced by Mr. President.
Yes, I am already mourning for all the other people who have been mislead, in their passion for violence, for revenge. Every time, Karachi pays for the loss. As I speak National Hospital, right after Kala Pull has been set ablaze. Really, a hospital? A man has been shot, a bus has been torched near the Steel Mill. Shops are closed, people are panicking. A lot of people returning from offices have abandoned their cars in fear of being set on fire themselves. Gulistan-e-Jauher is the centre of violent activities.
Yes, no one should die in such dire circumstances. Terrorism is what it was. But the aftermath of terrorism must be terrorism as well?
What’s the update in your area?

The Book Fair

kar_henna — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 14:55:02 +0000

Expo Centre’s been hosting quite a few exhibitions on a regular basis. One of them is a book fair. This is the third year of this fair and none of us are complaining. I have been attending it since it started out (not very long ago). The first year, there was a tangible hype, everybody wanted to buy books. Some sellers especially Liberty and Oxford offered thin slivers of discount. Other stalls had more to offer, yet since their popularity hadn’t soared they failed to carve a niche. Media also covered it extensively.
The second year too, it got bigger. Many stalls adorned children’s books. Activities were planned for their young readers, food courts got bigger. More book stalls attracted more people. This year, it’s been pleasant and safe. Like the previous years this year too, there were children nagging their parents to buy books, nerdy-looking people engrossed in searching title after title and housewives browsing through coffee table books.
All of that is great but my area of concern is the pricing. Good books (in terms of a jacket, smartly bound, visible print) were priced from 400 and above at Liberty. Which is insane. A book worth six hundred rupees at Liberty Books cost 300 rupees at Paramount. This forced me to think about what’s the standard pricing poilcy and who can afford to buy these books? Hardbound books world over are comparitively expensive. But 2000 rupees for a book on photography is way too much money for a student to spare. I wish these book sellers set realistic profit margins so that the rest of us can take advantage of such bookfairs. What’s you take on this?
The fair will be continue till the fourth of December.

Saad Haroon at IVSAA

kar_henna — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 04:20:57 +0000

Saad Haroon, a stand-up comic and a member of Black Fish, is going to perform at Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture.
Date: November 9, 2007. Friday.
Time: 7:30 pm to 9:30 pm.
Tickets will be available at the gate. Rupees 200/ per person.

Airport security checks?

kar_henna — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 14:59:05 +0000

Karachi security officials at Jinnah International perhaps were feeling too lazy after all the fasting and let a passenger smuggle 1000 grams worth of heroin capsules. Fortunately (or unfortunately) the passenger, whose nationality has not been revealed, was caught carrying 130,000 dollars worth of dope and was subjected to an X-Ray examination at the Dubai Airport.
The passenger initially refused and later confessed that he was carrying them inside his body, in his intestines. Jinnah International Customs Officials really need to get their act together, Ramadan or no Ramadan!

Criminal or gullible?

kar_henna — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 00:36:28 +0000

When Uzair Paracha graduated from IBA, with a business degree, majoring in marketing, only two things were on his mind. He wanted to marry his girlfriend, and take over the family business. February, 2003, 23-year old Uzair Paracha, while on business trip to the United States of America, was held by intelligence personnel and charged with terrorist conspiracy and assumed links to al-Qaeda. According to him, he was subjected to 72 hours of interrogation and torture, until his resolve broke and he relented to the FBI, telling them exactly what they wanted to hear. His confession is a product of fear and harassment.
From then on, his life has been a nightmare. Uzair Paracha who previously weighed 170 lbs, his frame has shrunk to a measly 114lbs. He is held in solitary confinement in a room that is approximately 6 feet by 8 feet, at Guantanamo Bay, which has the light on, 24 hours, a day.
Uzair upon his father’s request and his inherent naivet√©, checked the immigration status for a friend of a friend, Majid Khan. That was his crime, because Majid Khan was a suspected al-Qaeda’s ally. That fatal call to the INS caused his arrest for posing as an al-Qaeda operative. A jury charged Uzair guilty of terrorism charges for helping al-Qaeda’s man to slip into the US.

“Uzair Paracha is one of approximately fifty material witnesses who have been detained indefinitely in the United States in the past 2 years. He has since been charged on five counts, for providing material support to al-Qaeda, for which he has put in a plea of not guilty. His detention is a violation of amendments VI and VIII of the Bill of Rights, and Articles V-XI of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights most notably Article IX which states, “no one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile”.

Civil liberties groups have expressed their concerns about the highly coercive conditions such material witnesses have been subjected to, to the extent that, as a result of such interrogations, “they end up confessing to activities they never really took part in” (Michael Greenberger, director of the Centre for Health and Homeland Security at the University of Maryland School of Law). We remind you of the number of cases recently where such detainees have confessed to crimes they did not commit, only for their innocence to later be proven, most notably the case of Egyptian student, Abdallah Higazy. ”

His girlfriend is married and his father also in confinement, the family is fast losing hope to achieve justice.

http://www.petitiononline.com/cp08ji13/petition.html

AURA

kar_henna — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 02:26:11 +0000

Mothers of special children are usually pitied. They are considered to be living martyrs or almost saint-like. In Pakistan, especially due to lack of awareness, there is an uncompromising attitude on the general people’s part that hurts the parents of such children. Though it is slowly changing, for some it is difficult to warm up to people who are disbaled, physically or mentally.
One such mother, Dr. Ruby Abbasi took an action. Her son, Bilal was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, when he was two and a half years old. Cerebral Palsy is called paralysis of the brain. It occurs when the oxygen supply is cut off from the brain, during delivery or infancy. The results may be, epileptic fits, visual, hearing or speech impairment. The disbalities are physical and/or mental. This disease is not herediitary or contagious.
She formed a day care centre for such childrenin 1985. It began with merely two rented rooms in P.E.C.H.S. Dr. Abbasi “got trained at the BOBATH center in London UK in 1984 and started treating children, counseling parents on handling the child at home, and employing & training the local graduate therapists in the BOBATH techniques.”
Aura, a non-profit organization was formed by her, parents of children affected by cerebral palsy, therapists, doctors. “AURA is now functioning out of a purpose built building in Gulistan-e-johar Karachi since the year 2000. Program tailored to the individual needs of these children are being offered in two shifts.”
Many parents feel demotivated or even ashamed of bringing their disabled children out, in front of other people. This success story of a strong willed mother just shows that the change can only will itself, if the rest of us are accomodating. Let’s try and be a bit more accepting.
For further information http://www.alumeed.com/about_us.html

Security?

kar_henna — Sat, 21 Jul 2007 04:54:04 +0000

Rangers are here and there, everywhere. The city’s on high alert. Two bombs were found at the Park Towers Mall. Two bombs, five kilograms each. It’s weekend and everyone must have made a beeline for the solitary mall near the beach. I’m aghast, it just feels like being violated. Karachi has always been critical when it comes to security but bombs in the mall? Honestly, it feels like I’m loosing this city once again to the hate and violence.
Things have just begun piling here. A man was shot in the leg at Gulistan-e-Jauhar, two political parties were celebrating CJ’s victory. The happiness got the guns blasting. We shoot when we are happy. We shoot when we want to fight. Another man was killed near Sabzi Mandi a few days back for two lakh rupees. The took the money and shot the father of two. My own car’s window has been smashed to pieces for the stereo.
I try to find humour in this situation, there is none. I honestly try to find some hope, any shred of optimism but the city’s sinking into despair all over again.

Growing population pains

kar_henna — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 02:40:17 +0000

Karachi is big, it’s sprawling. The current population of 16 million will explode into a nasty figure of 27.5 million in 2020 and will double to 32 million by 2025; these facts were quoted by the Karachi Strategic Master Plan (KSMP) 2020.

These figures may baffle us with numbers, the 1998 census likes for us to believe that between one to two million aliens from Afghanistan and Srilanka, who inhabit the kutchi abaadis are no threat at all. Yet there are problems that are rampant. Accommodation is one of the biggest problems that this city government has to face. The living conditions are deplorable. Inadequate shelter, food and sanitation have concocted many diseases. What happens when kutchi abaadis spring up? They disrupt the infrastructure of a certain locality. What happens when you legalize foreigners, allocate plots/housing to remove the existing kutchi abaadis? More pop up.
It is very easy to feel sorry for the residents of such shanty towns, for they certainly have guts to reside in abject conditions. A case study of a particular woman who works as domestic help shows what sometimes does happen, when government is being fair. X, was a resident of Zia-ul -haq Colony, area that is currently Lyari Expressway. She lived in a house that was not hers. When Zia-ul-haq Colony was razed to build the great Expressway, she and other squatters, were allocated plots near Super Highway, and 50,000 rupees each, to build the houses. The other half of the story is predictable. A land mafia emerged, amongst their own kind, falsely occupied two to three plots each, some deserving people were rendered homeless and moved out into other kutchi abaadis, meanwhile a few rented their own homes and occupied the their previous status of squatting. This just goes on to prove that welcoming foreigners into this city is great, but at the cost of further deteriorating it’s mock infrastructure?
http://www.dawn.com/2007/07/10/local5.htm

Just another accident

kar_henna — Sun, 03 Jun 2007 08:08:13 +0000

Xyz was a final year student at Dow Medical College. She was an aspiring student and her humble origins did not hamper her success. This year, one of their teachers, could not perform well. The teacher failed all the students and a remedial was arranged. Xyz, a distinction holder, went up to the administration and asked them to revise their decision. The make-up exam, a viva was arranged after two days. On the day of exam, she asked her mother to bless her, she left her house a bit late, and thus she missed her point.
Taking a taxi, she went through the Highway. There a trailer hit her cab, the driver got saved but she was severely injured. Her injured body was further tormented when another trailer hit her. Her spinal cord was damaged and her eyeball was smashed when she was taken to the Lyari Hospital. Lyari Hospital could not admit her because it was road accident case. By the time she was taken to another hospital, she was dead. Isn’t it cruel to see a young individual departing at the prime of her life?
Big vehicles, that have reckless drivers at the steering wheels, need to be shaken. Emergency hospitals that only function on red-tapism. I wish there was more that could be done. Perhaps, different routes for these great vehicles, anything at all to avoid situations like these. It’s so easy to blame the fate and kismet, but how much longer is it going to be till the system will be cursed and incidents like these, forgotten?

Pakistani vision?

kar_henna — Sun, 20 May 2007 21:58:38 +0000

Pakistan Ka matlab kya?

Bum dhamaka aur aghwa

Tera Pakistan hai na mera Pakistan hai, yeh uss ka Pakistan hai jo sad-re Pakistan hai,

Pakistan say zinda bhaag….

I received this sms a few days back. After the initial laugh, venomous sarcasm kind of left me wondering. Is there anything that can be done, or will we just get immune to this?