Why hackers are after my accounts?

“Aoa, Hope all is well at your end. I need your assistance but am not available on phone at the moment. Please reply me back once you see my mail.

Regards,

XYZ”.

The mail from a colleague lands in my mailbox; other contacts of the colleague also receive a similar mail where the colleague XYZ asks them for help for his luggage has been stolen in Ukraine. Soon, colleagues start calling each other to discuss the whereabouts of XYZ and that how secretly he had planned his Ukraine visit, and how unfortunate he was to get stranded in the remote country.

Digitally illiterate are the colleagues who get panicked at this con mail. Such emails have been in circulation since the cyber world got roots in our part of the world in the mid-90s. Those were the days when people were conned into taking part in a poetry contest through email announcements against a $100 registration fee; as soon as a poet emailed their piece of poetry, they would get reply that their poem had been declared the best and number one by the jury in the hotly contested competition with participants from all over the world. That would ensue jubilation in the “internationally acknowledged” poet's family and local English press. That was, however, not the end of the competition. Soon, more emails would land in the poet’s mailbox asking them to send another $100 for the dispatch of a shield and a certificate and a book dedicated to them. Another email would demand another $100 for the poet’s interview's publication in a magazine. The $100 emails would never end. Some English newspapers also proudly broke the news of such big win for Pakistan at the international level, side by side castigating the politicians who had brought a bad name for the country of the pure by their incessant corruption.

People still receive such emails and ignore them. I receive emails every day offering me jackpots, a lion share in a young, beautiful widow’s million dollar account, the full control of the billion dollars unclaimed bank account and so on. I also receive invitations for a public speaking at a Hollywood function, a keynote speaker at the UN General Assembly and a special dinner with President Donald Trump for my services for the humanity.

Besides these cons, hacker applications are at works hacking email and social media accounts. I receive messages on my mobile phone which indicates morons are attempting at my accounts.  

I do not know what they want to discover in a journalist’s email. Perhaps some upcoming Panama Papers like stuff? Or untold WikiLeaks stories? Some top celebrities’ scandals?

No.

Here is a snapshot of the usual emails I receive every day in my mailbox. 

On the top of the mails is one from the Pakistan United Council which showers tribute on Pir Sialvi for ending the protest.

پیر حمید الدین سیالوی کی حکومت مخالف تحریک ملتوی کرنے کا خیر مقدم کرتے ہیں، ڈاکٹر عبدالغفور راشد

After one hour of this email landed another one by Jamiatu Muntazar.

This is their first line in the mail     

 پانچوں وفاق المدارس کو خودمختاری کی بنیاد پر امتحانی بورڈ کی حیثیت سے تسلیم کیا جائے، علامہ نیاز نقوی

 Such emails from several religious and political groups crowd my mailbox and go to the delete box unread.

 I wonder why one is interested in peeping into my mailbox.

37 accounts and 35 punctures of water-fueled car

Dr Shahid Masood finds himself in the dock. The doctor-turned-Tv talk show-turned-monologue actor drew the ire of Supreme Court Chief Justice Saqib Nisar for claiming to have the proof of 37 bank accounts of the alleged rapist-cum-murderer of Zainab Amin, a minor girl of Kasur, under an international child porn racket. The medicine doctor was regarded the most authentic, objective and not less than a messiah when he was attached with the Geo News Television from 2009 t0 2013 and would hurl deadlines in his every show about the dissolution of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) government, arrest of then president Asif Ali Zardari and other PPP leaders for the crimes of corruption being committed all over the world. When all his deadlines fell flat, and then Supreme Court brigade found no meat in his allegations, the Geo bosses turned disappointed from him and without any deadline, showed him the door. Wounded, but never feeling humiliated, the doctor, soon sat at another rival TV channel – ARY – where he resumed his offshore doom and gloom shops, selling the things like Rs5 billion bills confiscated from the house of former PPP Sindh minister Sharjeel Inam Memon, and Bilawal House being raided if not tonight, maybe in the morning or afternoon or by evening but before midnight.

When the night passed without any raid, and in the morning, no Rangers' deployment was seen outside the Bilawal House, and nothing much happened in the afternoon and evening either, the doctor would profess the next raid timeline: surely, tonight, or by the morning.

When some saner elements at the ARY realised that the programme had become a source of embarrassment, they politely told him that he should choose his own farewell date. He joined Bol TV network and Dunya TV for brief times; now for over three years, he sits in News One studios. In the meantime, he tried to bless the Pakistan Muslim League-N with his investigative imagination, calling their victory the result of 35 punctures. Roadside tyer fixers might have felt challenged by his of analogy between puncture and sham elections.

Side by side, this doctor’s counterparts have also been airing the elements of doom and gloom on an everyday basis. Hamid Mir, who claims to be an honest and objective journalist with two bullets still in his belly, challenged the laws of science by strongly supporting a water-run car. Kamran Khan read out long speeches implicating former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, Raja Parvez Ashraf, Nawaz Sharif and Khaqan Abbasi. Name any other anchor or newspaper reporter, who has not seen #theDrShahidMasood moment in their career.

No one knows what jinxed Dr Shahid Masood, as his progroamme caught the eye of the honourable chief justice, that the anchor finds himself in the dock. If the respected judge starts reading the top English and Urdu newspapers, and watch the prime time talk shows, the court will fall short of time addressing fake, sloppy news.

This is not #theDrShahidMasood claim. Right now, I am reading a lead story in an English newspaper, which is just like another like 27 bank account story or water-fueled car.  

      

Barack Obama vs Shahbaz Sharif: no clapping please!

If you have watched President Barack Obama’s speech on May 2, 2011 where he announces the death of Osama bin Laden, and also the press conference of Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif earlier this week where he breaks the arrest of the alleged killer of Kasur’s minor girls, one can watch the stark difference of sobriety and statesmanship between the two announcements. But there is no comparison between a two-time president of America and a two-time Punjab chief minister. One needs to, somehow, compare, the differences to learn lessons for a better future. We need to get lessons from the demonstration of sobriety from Barack Obama, as well as follies of his successor US President Donald Trump, who seems to never think before speaking or tweeting. It is also obvious he is not in the habit of thinking even after tweeting and talking to someone.   

The chief minister, who loves media attention only to get positive words and hates to face journalists, gladly called a press conference to announce the arrest of the alleged killer of a Kasur’s minor girl, whose case had hogged the attention of the whole world. Should we call it a press conference where instead of the Chief Minister’s House beat reporters, most of the blue-eyed aged journalists had been invited to. These blue-eyed journalists notoriously throw lose balls to rescue the chief minister and his elder brother, disqualified prime minister Nawaz Sharif from hard questions. Their job also includes throwing loud laughter at the off-the-beat jokes of the Sharif’s family. The chief minister seated on a chair which shows that who is presiding over the session. By him sat Muhammad Amin Ansari, the father of the minor deceased girl of Kasur, and Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanullah. Why were these two gentlemen sitting by him, by the way?

The chief minister started the speech drooling and drooling about his own day and prayers, the nation’s prayers, and his own day and night efforts to capture the killer. Then he started sharing the detail of the agencies’ and people’s efforts to track and capture the killer. The hall erupted in cheers. The chief minister gleefully smiled. He invited the officials to the stage and proudly demanded that cheers be showered on these officials too.  

Obedient journalists followed the instructions.  

While the whole hall erupted in cheers, including those blue-eyed journalists, and ministers and officials, the only person not so amused was Muhammad Ameen Ansari, the father of the slain girl, whose killer’s arrest had become a matter of celebrations for the chief minister, his ministers, and blue-eyed journalists. He sat with a blank face. Shame.

Let us go back to May 2011, when then US president Barack Obama had announced getting Osama bin Laden in his televised address to the nation.

Just the opening paragraph shows how soberly he broke the news:

“Good evening. Tonight, I can report to the American people and to the world, the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of al Qaeda, and a terrorist who's responsible for the murder of thousands of innocent men, women, and children. It was nearly 10 years ago that a bright September day was darkened by the worst attack on the American people in our history.”

While announcing this, he wore seriousness on his face.

Be serious about the business, Mr Shahbaz Sharif

Munoo Bhail is no more: Munoo Bhai lives twice

Munoo Bhai or Munnu Bhai, whatever you spell the name, is no more. 

There were days whenever his celebrity or commoner friend died, people would wait for their obituary by Munoo Bhai (let us agree on these spelling for this piece; by the way his original name was Munir Ahmed Qureshi), whose words would make the deceased a larger than life figure, and in many cases, life-affirming people. 

He taught the world that every person, regardless of riches and fame, was somewhat larger than life for some people, if not many. Every single sentence of the obituary would wail the death; every line would pour glaring and befitting tribute to the deceased. 

Only, his imagination and vigilant eyes would the unique aspects of the bygone people. Now, the time has come when his own obituaries are being written, and he is not here to read them. Who can do justice with his obituary? One would wish he had written his own obituary to do justice to the person like him. But who has the guts to write their own obituary?   One of his columns – You Only Live Twice - published in Jang on November 12, 2012 starts with these lines:

ایک جاپانی نظم ضرب المثل بن چکی ہے جس کا اردو ترجمہ کچھ یوں ہوگا کہ
ہم صرف دوبار زندگی پاتے ہیں
پہلی بار جب پیدا ہوتے ہیں اور دوسری بار
جب موت ہماری آنکھوں میں آنکھیں ڈالتی ہے
مطلب موت سے آنکھیں ملاتے وقت آنکھوں کا نہ جھپکانا ہمیں نئی زندگی دیتا ہے۔

(A Japanese poem that has gained a proverbial status, can be translated into Urdu as 'we get life only twice; one, when we are born, and two, when death eyes us warily, means when not blinking while meeting the death angel bestows us with a new life'.)    

But to remember Munoo Bhai just as the finest obituary writer is not any justice to him, who died at 84 on January 19 in Lahore. Several people love the playwright Munoo Bhai. A successful play is the work of playwright, director, producer, actors and supporting staff. Munoo Bhai the columnist stands taller than the playwright Bhai.

Not many people would have met Munoo Bhai in their real life, yet they would meet him four or five times a week in Pakistan’s most circulated newspaper Jang’s inside page No 2, where his column was published with his picture. In his columns, he talked to his readers about poor people, common people, weak people, the grassroots level political workers, social workers and so on. He wrote endlessly on political worker Saeen Gutteywala, a small time vendor-plus-dedicated Pakistan People’s Party worker. He wrote why Saeen Gutteywala was hopeless and how his hope could be revived. This is what he conveyed to PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari when he visited Munoo Bhai to enquire after his health earlier this month that he needed to study the policies of his grandfather Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and mother Benazir Bhutto.

In his last years’ columns, Munoo Bhai turned more to national and international civic and social issues; he would cite international reports, laced with research and figures, in his columns. Such columns were devoid of true Munoo Bhai coulurs, but that is how intellectuals evolve over the time. The moral of each column, however, would voice the poor people’s concerns.  

That is how Munoo Bhai learned to live twice: once, through his columns, and now through his everlasting messages in each column.        

Rao Anwaar or Naqeebullah Mehsood - who will live to see the day?

 Police encounters do not make any news in Pakistan unless the deceased’s picture hits the social media, and his charming looks trigger social media public outcry. 

In the first place, there should be no police encounters at all; police should be trained enough to arrest the wanted people and bring them to the court of law after an apt, able and scientifically correct investigation. 

Nowadays, the death of Naqeebullah, a South Waziristan good-looking youth, is the talk of the social media, mainstream media and the bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan. The youth met his tragic end in a police encounter, which the social media calls a cold-blooded murder, by Senior Superintendent of Police Rao Anwaar, famous/notorious specialist for such encounters. Such encounters are reported in Punjab almost every day where petty criminals to hardened criminals are gunned down, by the friendly fire of their own accomplices in the dead of the night who later flee safely and the police officials exchanging fires also remain unhurt. Such Bollywood film is published every day without any action or reaction from any quarters.    

Now, it has been reported that Rao Anwaar has been suspended from the post and placed on the ECL. His suspension should not panic those who think that Rao Anwaar is a daring police officer who, like his predecessor Chaudhry Aslam, kills terrorists. Such suspensions are official routine matters. He has been suspended only to ensure the impartiality of investigations. It does not mean any suggestion of guilt or otherwise. He is still a working SSP and has not been sacked as the media is saying.

Once the Naqeebullah case is over, police encounter deaths would be a matter of the past too. That is so unfortunate. The better way forward is and should be the establishment of a permanent commission to look into every single death involving police, Rangers or army. Given the law and order situation of the country, one should not jump to the conclusion that every single encounter is fake. Similarly, every encounter cannot be genuine as well. But the social media’s verdict is out even before the inquiry team’s conclusion: Naqeebullah Mehsood is innocent and Rao Anwaar is the killer. No. 

Like every coin has two sides, this incident has also been generating conflicting accounts. Consider: Some say the 22-year-old aspiring model from South Waziristan moved to Karachi last year; some say he had been in Karachi since 2009. No one is saying this on the record. Only close relatives are being cited. Another conflicting point: Police in plain clothes picked him from his cloth shop about two weeks ago, and later killed him in a fake encounter. Why no one during this time approaches the court, media and social media.
Why did Rao Anwaar just pick a random young man and killed him? Did he have any personal animosity with him or any relatives of him?  Who are the other people killed in the encounter? Are they innocent too? If yes, why no one is raising voice for them? If they are terrorists, why Naqeebullah is being singled out?  Is there any record of him being a model? People have claimed that he used to regularly post on Facebook, whereas there is no any Facebook account of him. Amazingly, his parents and siblings are quiet. Some even said that such a handsome person with sweet smiles cannot be terrorist. That is one the most stupid arguments. One of the main characteristics of psychopaths is charming personality. Not saying his charming personality means he was a terrorist.

Before the facts are ascertained by police, please, hold your verdict. 

Friend Zulfiqar Ali raised very pertinent questions:

“Law enforcement agencies must be given protection along with reining in that not extrajudicial killings should happen. Otherwise they will not be able to do their job.
The practice of them being condemned lately started after Lal Masjid Terrorists were killed and terrorists lovers media and judges condemned police and army etc.
Then during dharna the culprits were given money to travel back .
In Kasur people became violent and attacked police station and other property .They endagered lives. Police fired . Two people died. Immediately four policemen were arrested. I am not saying they were innocent. By there must first have been inquiry and then they should have been charged.
Similarly Prof Hassan Zafar case was wrongly declared as kiddnapping and extrajudicial killing too. After his daughter gave statement still some so called human rights activists believe that her statement is under duress. How can they claim so ?
I am not saying police is not corrupt or does not do extrajudicial killing. We must analyze each case without prejudice of any other case.”

Curse the parliamentarians, not parliament!

Sicks are those who curse Parliament, which is the custodian of people’s rights. More sickening it is when the abuser himself is a parliamentarian. Period.

What would you, however, say of such Parliament, that passes the 12^th Amendment that grants immunity to a dictator’s actions and awards him with constitutional legitimacy? One would not stop short of cursing the moment when that Parliament was elected to do such a shameful act.

Parliament represents public’s aspirations. What is to say of one such parliament where its leader, yes, I am talking about the prime minister, has turned up not more than 10 times in his four-year tenure? What is the level of that parliament where the leader of the third largest party - Imran Khan - does not like to come to?  Parliament is not just the name of a building, chairs, desks, and microphones. Its members, its business and its performance make it a supreme institution in the eye of the public and the constitution. One would be glad to hear to know about the number of times when this parliament’s proceedings went smoothly with a full quorum. When Parliament has always been struggling to maintain its quorum, it speaks volume of its performance.

We are never tired of calling – Parliament is supreme.

Parliament’s supremacy and honour are not granted. Parliamentarians need to earn it for the house if they want to condemn those who call parliament a jinxed place. The person who shamed a female parliamentarian colleague in the house because of her physical appearance now sits as the foreign minister. Yes, the very “soft-spoken” Khawaja Asif is being mentioned here. The remarks of another treasury parliamentarian about his opposition colleague that his sister is often seen in someone bedroom will not fade anytime soon. You are right, the spat between Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s Murad Saeed and Pakistan Muslim League’s Khurram Latif will not add to shining examples of Parliament.

Still, spats, brawls, and rowdy sessions are part of Parliament the world over. Those parliaments, however, also have glaring examples of following stricter accountability rules, and showing no compromise on the rule of law. In those Parliaments, a scandal involving the distant relative of a sitting Parliamentarian forces the parliamentarian in question to quit the house and prove their innocence. Let us learn something from the South Korean parliament, which impeached Park Geun-hye, the former president, who has been jailed over a high profile corruption scandal that has already seen her ousted from office and prompted early elections. She has been jailed for on charges of bribery, abuse of authority, coercion and leaking government secrets. Here, our Parliament never questioned its on-leave finance minister Ishaq Dar, who is wanted for billion rupees scams. Previous prime minister Nawaz Sharif faced zero resistance from Parliament when he and his family were named in the Panama case. Moreover, this Parliament will never feel pride in hosting members like Jamshed Dasti, Abid Sher Ali, MQM’s members now facing charges of murder, extortion and what not, retired Captain Safdar, Imran Khan, Sheikh Rasheed and so on.

On Thursday, the National Assembly condemned Imran Khan and Sheikh Rasheed for cursing Parliament at a public rally in Lahore.

A good step indeed, but a better step would be to go further from condemning their colleagues and reflecting Parliament's past and present actions for a better future.

The Mall rally

It was heartening to see a political activity in Lahore, once the hub of such activities, after so many years where the opposition assembled for a political cause. Such things are becoming a rarity in the newly democratic Pakistan. Political rallies, often by students, used to be an almost everyday scene in big cities during the 60s to 90s, and then traders-turned-politicians took the centre stage, making the real political activities an unusual thing. To see a united, but fragmented, opposition hold a political rally on The Mall is a welcome scene, and it is hoped such more rallies will be brought out by the united opposition against the governments in Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan.

The Punjab government met the show gracefully and without creating any hindrance let it go. Some traders, who would throw eggs on protesting nurses and shower rose petals on pro-Mumtaz Qadri lawyers’ had moved the Lahore High Court against the political show, but the honorable judges accepted people’s right to assembly and protest and allowed the Pakistan Awami Tehreek-led political show to be held with certain conditions. The Mall traders demand special privilege that rallies be banned on the road for they affect their business. Most of the time, they are given favor by banning the rallies, which is against the spirit of the people’s right to rally and protest. Very rarely, political rallies go violent. Hopefully, the coming months will see more and more political gatherings.

The last political gathering showed how a fragmented opposition leaves no political impact behind. The rally, which was convened by PAT chief Dr Tahirul Qadri, against the government’s failure to bring the killers of the Model Town tragedy to the task. He had invited Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), Pakistan Muslim League-Q and a few other parties to the show. It would have been the beginning of an era like the Movement for the Restoration of Democracy, or Nawabzada Nasarullah Khan-led political alliances, but the spanner, thrown by PTI Chairman Imran Khan spoiled the spirit when he said he would not share the stage with Asif Zardari. Though Dr Tahirul Qadri went ahead with the plan, vowing to bring both Imran and Zardari to the stage, the damage was already done, and the activists of either party were not ready to listen to each other. Imran Khan is introducing a new culture where an opposition party berates another opposition party benefitting the government.

The rally, though well attended by a very charged crowd, concluded without giving any solid programme. Asif Zardari aimed at Nawaz Sharif; Imran Khan spent his vocal energies on government and Sharif’s corruption, whereas Dr Qadri and Chaudhry Pervez Elahi only targeted the Shahbaz Sharif government. Sheikh Rasheed announced his resignation from the National Assembly. He also invited Imran Khan to follow him.

Once the rally was over, the workers had no plan ahead for the coming days.

A well-organized show went in vain.    

Chaudhry Nisar vs Pervez Rasheed

Our political world is never devoid of foul play, and the most recent addition to the list is a spat of exchange of words between Pakistan Muslim League-N’s two bigwigs – former interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan and former information minister Senator Pervez Rasheed. Both once sat on the cabinet of once (no, thrice) prime minister Nawaz Sharif. 

Of the three, Pervez Rasheed was the first o go; Nawaz Sharif followed him, while Chaudhry Nisar opted not to be part of the ensuing cabinet. 

The press and electronic media are abuzz with their statements directed at each other. That is so absurd. It all started with Pervez Rasheed’s interview with Nasim Zehra’s programme on a TV channel talk show where the former information minister pointed finger at his former colleague for his disgraceful exit from the cabinet of then prime minister, and now disqualified in the Panama Gate case, Nawaz Sharif, for his alleged role in the Dawn Leaks. The saga, which started after the publication of a news story by Cyril Almeida in Dawn that the civilians had mounted pressure on the military establishment to curtail militants for avoiding international isolation. The establishment pressured the government to a hold a probe into the publication of, what the establishment dubbed a fabricated and unfounded story, but even before the start of the probe, Pervez Rasheed was sacked from the ministry. The wounds might keep him sleepless.

Once the Dawn Leaks saga was over, the Panama Leaks struck the PML-N government and claimed the head of Nawaz Sharif. In the ensuing developments, Chaudhry Nisar Ali showed his dissenting note and refused to join the cabinet of Prime Minister Shahid Kahqan Abbasi and has been keeping his dissenting face since then. His criticism stretches from Nawaz Shari’s anti-judiciary postures to Maryam Nawaz’s bids to outshine Shahbaz Sharif’s as the likely successor to Nawaz Sharif. Chaudhry Nisar is of the opinion that Shahbaz Sharif should be a candidate to the prime minister’s office after the general election. Nawaz Sharif and his daughter have serious reservations about Shahbaz Sharif, and have frustrated the Nisar-Shahbaz camp to aim at the prime minister’s prized chair.

In this context, now Pervez Rasheed has been unleashed on Chaudhry Nisar to oust him from the PML-N even before the general election, conveying a harsh message to Shahbaz Sharif too to “know your place”. Pervez Rasheed is very close to Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz, and without their consent, he cannot foment against Chaudhry Nisar. He has been dared to contest elections without the symbol of tiger. Omens show that Chaudhry Nisar’s days in the PML-N have been numbered.

If Chaudhry Nisar is shown the door, bad days for Shahbaz Sharif will begin too. It will lead to chaos and polarization in the PML-N, benefitting the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf and the Pakistan People’s Party in the 2018 elections. But the fact is that the PML-N is better off without Chaudhry Nisar Ali and Shahbaz Sharif, who both have been supporters of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan; Pervez Rasheed is not an angel as being information minister, he would devout his mouth work to degrade the political opponents, instead of fighting the case of Pakistani government. If one looks with clear vision, they will realise that the whole PML-N has been the carrier of a plagued, bleak ideology.

May God bring better times for Pakistan! 

Winning over Pakistani consumers’ confidence

A report by the Nelson Global Survey of Consumer Confidence and Spending Intentions gives an all-time high to Pakistan mounting its points by nine points in July-September 2017. What factors in the positive outlook is the positive perception of job outlook, increasing from 47 per cent in the second quarter to 57pc in the third quarter. When compared to other regions, it is seen that North American consumer confidence remained on solid footing in the second quarter of 2017 with a score of 117, despite a decline of four points from the fourth quarter of 2016. Confidence in the Asia-Pacific region strengthened modestly, rising three points to 114. Confidence in Europe increased five points, and confidence held steady in Latin America with a score of 85, according to Nelson Pakistan website. 

The survey found that the respondents have positive views about the state of their personal finances had mounted by two percentage points from the second quarter to 66pc, resultantly immediate-spending intentions have reached 49pc, compared to 46pc in the second quarter 2017. It is obvious that political uncertainties, turmoil in the region because of the rise of militant outfits, such as Daesh, have not affected the people’s pockets. The main factor behind this positive outlook could be low POL prices the world over. An occasional increase in the prices because of OPEC intention to cut down the supplies has so far did not impact the market overall.   

The one bleak area in the survey report is a slight dip in job security. Yes, workplaces are a bit insecure in the country given polarization and ever-changing corporate world’s priorities. The survey found a one percentage point dip in job security that has been the biggest concern over the next six months, and it still remains the top concern amongst 21pc of Pakistani consumers. Several sectors, such as services and media, have seen job uncertainties. In media, there is the worst recession going on. Several media outlets have been delaying the salaries of their employers or have underpaid them because of rising costs and shortened revenues. The services sector, especially hospitality and medical, have also seen shrinking revenues resulting in job cuts.  

Domestic tourism, however, saw a sharp upward trend as people are more and more spending on vacations despite the Northern Areas hotspots have yet to be fully developed. Similarly, more recreational spots in Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan have not been developed and many worthy spots remain undiscovered. Technology, especially the telecom, also attracted more cash spending. But it only increased the import bills. “The nine-point upsurge in Pakistan’s consumer confidence score depicts an improving outlook for the country,” noted Quratulain Ibrahim, managing director, Nielsen Pakistan.

 “Since Nielsen launched the survey, this has been the highest number reached to date. We can attribute the score to many different reasons, such as the growth of our agricultural sector, controlled inflation, strengthened power supply and most importantly the uplift in our job market. There has been an increase in large-scale manufacturing —notably the automotive industry. Pakistan is flourishing and is rated as one of the top growth markets in the Middle East and Africa region.”

Give justice to transgender

In 2009, the Supreme Court of Pakistan granted equal human rights to the transgender community and ordered authorities to recognize transgender people as a separate legal identity on their national identity cards. Now, is the need for understanding the current living situation of the transgender community, how it transformed in the past seven years since the Supreme Court judgment. No work has been done to analyze how successful the implementation of the judgment was, and what policies need to be constructed in order to promote equity and equality for all despite whatever gender differences an individual may have. This can only be done through an in-depth examination of the situation of transgender people.

It is said “the lack of a single common framework for deciding what is ethical and what is not thus ultimately influences the outcome of public policymaking and the reputation of public relations”. The second area of focus is to understand the loopholes that may exist in the Supreme Court judgment and that may have contributed to the failure of its successful implementation. The judgment was prompted by the identity factor. Identity can be referred to as a term which may be social and personal. Social category implies to a group of individuals noticed or recognized by labels and differentiated by policies or laws that decide association and characteristic qualities. As for the second term personal identity can be looked upon as an understanding of unchangeable characteristics due to which an individual feels self-importance since it distinguishes the individual from others. However, there are various definitions and arguments that have been presented for identity throughout history. Identity plays a crucial role in Identity Politics which is a phrase that is widely used to imply numerous political activities and the speculation that is formed due to certain social groups who share their experiences of injustice. The main aim of the development of Identity politics is to protect the political liberty of those individuals who are marginalized in the population and suffer on the basis of their identity in a superior environment so equality can prevail in the society.

The term ‘transgender’ refers to those individuals whose gender identity, behavior and expression differ from the assigned one given at birth. This also includes those individuals who may have had gender reassignment surgery, hormonal treatment or no treatment at all. However, the term ‘transgender’ is often viewed in two ways; the first one being the original definition represents the individuals who cross gender, without having any gender reassignment surgery. The second way is more assorted or taken as an umbrella term which includes all identities and practices that cross or move outside the ideology that has been built regarding gender restrictions. In other words, it includes and is not restricted to heterosexuals, intersex individuals, transvestites, transsexuals, and eunuchs.

It is critical to state here that sexual orientation and gender identity is not the same thing. Gender identity is one’s own perception of ‘self’, despite their physical or emotional appeal towards another person which is sexual orientation.

To be clear, gender nonconformity is not considered as a mental disorder; ‘gender dysphoria’ is in fact described as major mental agony that affects the communal and occupational functioning of a person.

In Pakistan, getting diagnosed and going through sex reassignment surgeries is not as common as it is in developed countries. The reason is the majority of transgender folks residing in Pakistan face issues of poverty and illiteracy.

A welcome thaw in US-Pakistan ties

The US Centcom seems closer to the Afghan realities than their US State Department counterparts and instead of hurling ‘notices’ and slur on Pakistan, they are speaking with mind and sanity. Though they cannot do anything with aid suspension decisions, they have conveyed to their Pakistani counterparts that no unilateral action on their territory is on their list of options as the impression was being conveyed by the hostile statements of President Donald Trump and State Department officials. The telephone call to Army Chief Gen Qamar Bajwa from Centcom Commander Gen Joseph Votel, whose details were shared by the Inter-Services Public Relation (ISPR) on Friday, is a welcome step, and it will shed misunderstanding lurking on either side after the tweet by Donald Trump on Jan 1, calling Pakistan liar and deceitful.

According to the ISPR, besides Gen Votel, a senator, whose name was not disclosed, also called the army chief, to boil down the tensions and to maintain a level security cooperation. Right after the tweet, Defence Minister Khurram Dastigir, in a tit-for-tat tweet, had announced suspending all intelligence and logistical ties with the US, and its heat might have been felt by the State Department and Pentagon. The senator might have spoken on behalf of the diplomatic circles of the US, who are most of the time at unease because of the impulsive, out-of-blue tweets by President Donald Trump. His recent tweets calling African nations as shitholes have put the American administration at the centre of embarrassment.     

The conversation between the two sides focused on three things: the ups and downs in the ties are soon going to be over; the US plans no unilateral action against Pakistan on its soil, and that both sides should continue cooperating with each other. The three areas must offer a sigh of relief to the General Headquarters and the Pakistan Foreign Office, especially the comment by US Central Command Spokesperson Colonel John Thomas that ‘we value mutual understanding of interests and concerns that we need to consider and might lead to a positive path forward”.

Gen Bajwa has mastered the art of military diplomacy well, and during the conversation, he also conveyed the true sentiments of the nation that Pakistan did not want the aid anymore at the cost of losing self-respect but it would continue cooperation with the US in its war against terrorism for it was in the benefit of its own people. Pakistan through its action has also proven its commitment. The Operation Raddul Fassad is one such effort to defeat terrorists. Its several measures to secure the border controls unilaterally also speak volume, whereas Afghanistan has been opposed to the border management because of its reservations over accepting the Durand Line as the international border.

The communication is a welcome thaw in relations between the two countries. Pakistan, however, must address some of the growing concerns of the US, Afghanistan and other allies regarding the sanctuaries of militants on its soil. Though border controls are working, still there are gaps where from the militants can infiltrate easily because of their sympathizers in border areas.

More cooperation between the US and Pakistan could easily chase and kill the militants.  

If your nose is stuffy or is running

If one is coughing, feeling fever with a sore throat and a stuffy or a runny nose, having body aches with a severe headache, and developing chills and fatigue, the symptoms tell that they have contracted H1NI flu, or seasonal influenza, which has gripped Punjab and Islamabad in these winter months. Unlike the regular flu, which often fades in a matter of days or weeks, swine flu can lead to lung infection, pneumonia, and breathing problems. So far, the viral strain has claimed four lives in Bahawalpur and 18 in Multan, totaling 28 in the country, whereas, according to the National Institute of Health (NIH), Islamabad, more than 400 suspected cases of the fatal flu have been reported in the country. Of them, the bloodwork of 120 tested positive while others’ lab work is the working. In the Nishtar Hospital of Multan, six fresh cases of seasonal influenza were admitted while the Bahawal Victoria Hospital has also four patients admitted for treatment. The number is growing, which should be a matter of great concern for the health authorities.

An awareness campaign should be launched in the media to educate the public about the effects of the seasonal flu.  Specialists on infectious diseases say the first thing the people should do is: do not panic if they have caught flu. This is a hard task given 28 deaths in the country in a matter of three weeks. Doctors explain that the virus is less harmful to adult and healthy people and they need not visit a doctor in case of catching the flu as their immunity will put them on the recovery path in days. Flu, however, is dangerous for those suffering from diabetes, lung cancer, asthma and heart ailments. Children and elderly people are susceptible to the harms of influenza that can even lead to death.

As hospitals have been put on alert, patients can buy influenza vaccine, which is available in the market. One shot remains effective for a year. Patients should keep their medical history updated, and should go to well-equipped hospitals. In several deaths, the main cause was the late confirmation of the disease; the timely detection of the disease would have saved their lives. According to an advisory by the NIH last month, “the people who are elderly or very young, pregnant, obese, immune-compromised or face chronic health problems such as asthma, diabetes, cardiac and lung diseases are at high-risk of developing complications from the H1N1 virus. Avoid touching your nose, mouth or eyes as the virus survives on common surfaces, etc. Take rest, avoid crowds and take other social distancing measures. Young children having flu should stay home, rather than going to school, to avoid chances of transferring the virus to other children. Cover your mouth and nose when you sneeze or cough. Avoid contaminating your hands, cough or sneeze into a tissue or the inner crook of your elbow. Vaccination is the most effective way to prevent infection and severe outcomes caused by influenza viruses particularly in high-risk groups”.

The government and the public should take seasonal influenza seriously. The government should launch awareness campaigns and prepare hospitals to treat the patients in timely manners by providing them with several test kits and anti-flu vaccines and antibacterial drugs. The public should also do its part: follow the advisory by the NIH.

Why are children not seen on Kasur streets?

Before mobile phones snatched their childhood charm, children of all genders and backgrounds used to hit the streets after school and would keep on playing till dusk. 

Now, in posh areas, a few children are seen run bicycles in the evening in front of their houses. That is always under the vigilant eyes of their parents of some guards. 

In lower-middle-class neighborhoods, however, children keep the streets alive with their games. 

But not in Kasur, anymore. 

If one happens to be in Kasur city nowadays, they will notice that neighborhoods streets are calm and devoid of usual children’s laughter, noise and thrill: the power of Nature that makes the life beautiful is missing. A few children, if seen on the streets, are accompanied by their elders, holding their fingers with a firm grip. Fear is visible children’s faces while elders seem under the stress of acute caution.

Reason?

The city streets discovered on January 9 the 12th body of a minor girl, who had been missing since Jan 4, and later her body was found at a garbage site near her house. A postmortem report stated she was raped and gagged. Earlier, in 11 months, as many minor boys and girls have met the same tragedy.

In all incidents, the paedophile(s) used the same method: kidnap the child ages 5 to 10 from the street and dump their body in some under-construction house or garbage site after two or three days after molesting and gaging them. Whenever a child went missing, the helpless parents with local residents had launched a frantic search besides alerting the police. The fruitless exercise has been done in all cases.       

Police remain clueless in their search for the psychopath(s). In all cases, the police followed their traditional methods: after every incident of killing, they would round up the addicts, petty and hardened felons and the close relatives of the deceased child and release them after a few days of interrogation, declaring them innocent and closing the file of the case. In one case, a minor child, who was abducted, raped and dumped at a deserted house was found alive but unconscious. She has been struggling for life in the Lahore Children’s Hospital for the last three months. Police are banking upon her recovery that she will provide them with some valuable clue leading to the identity of the child molester(s). As time is precious in such case and given the age of the child, it is very much unlikely that she remembers the graphic details of the traumatic incident even after the passage of three months. In the latest episode, a video footage is making rounds on the social media where the deceased girl is seen walking with a stranger in Peerowala Road locality of the district. It has yet to be seen how police make the most of the precious proof.     

At last, the 12^th death prodded Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif to take notice of the killing spree directing the police personnel to arrest the culprits. Kasur, the land of Sufi poet Baba Bulleh Shah who preached peace and love in his poetry, has been in the news for anti-child acts for some time. Earlier, it hogged the world attention after news reports that several children were molested and filmed by gangsters in Hussain Khan Wala. The rehabilitation of those children was never undertaken by the government or any other organization.

The killings of minor boys and girls pose a challenge to police and the government functionaries. The government has invested a good amount in the professional development of police force, so the force must resolve the cases and make the Kasur city safe for children again.  

Wedding bells and wedding blasts: all about Imran Khan

Weddings are mostly associated with bells, but when you are 65 years old man, have been married two times earlier, have publically admitted that you have proposed a 50 years old woman, then wedding bells are very much likely to turn into a cannon, a weapon of media noise. Yes, it is about Imran Khan and his rumored marriage with a less known, spiritual woman Bushra Bibi or Bushra Bibi Maneka. Media outlets are searching for news related to Bushra, her family and background; talk show hosts find the topic fodder for ratting, while opponents and supporters are offering comment on the wedding.

The coveted wedding ceremony was reported by the matchless matchmaker Umer Cheema in his exclusive story. Denial from the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf ensued. The mufti, who had earlier performed the secret nikah of Imran Khan with Reham Khan, is hesitant to confirm or deny the wedding report. The same thing had happened in the case of Imran Khan-Reham Khan wedding back in 2014 and at that time, initially, Imran, his nikah khawan mufti, and the PTI brigade had initially refuted the news. Later, the pictures of the bride and the groom were released to the media. The same fishy things are happening now. After the initial denial, the party released a press release that Imran Khan had proposed Bushra Maneka and he was awaiting her likely approval. Once she says ‘yes, I do’, the media and the public would be duly informed.

Imran Khan’s marriages always news, nationally and internationally. In 1995, Imran Khan first tied the knot with Jemima Khan. The marriage attracted the attention of the world media for those days, Imran Khan was the most sought-after bachelor while Jemima Khan, being heiress to the Goldsmith family, was the life of the social circles of London elite. The marriage remained intact for nine years and came to an abrupt end in June 2004. The couple has two sons, who live with Jamema Khan in London. From 2004 till 2015, Imran Khan made headlines for his vehement opposition to successive Pakistani governments. In 2015, his marriage was again in the world limelight for the beautiful bide happened to be a former BBC weather girl. His second marriage lasted only 10 months. Before Imran Khan could officially divorce Reham Khan, seasoned journalist Arif Nizami broke the news about the broken house of Bani Gala.   

Imran Khan, who is now nearing 70, was in August in the news, this time not for marriage, but his alleged advances and lewd text messages to his party MNA Ayesha Gulalai. She said Imran Khan first proposed her through a text message and later asked her to meet him. His party colleagues, however, leaped to Imran Khan's defence.

The latest, one is not sure if it will be the last one, is Imran Khan’s proposal to Bushra Bibi, the mother of five grownup children. Imran Khan used to visit her for spiritual connections, which later developed into, hmm, more than spiritual connections. If Bushra Bibi says ‘I do’, it will be a new journey, though not first, for both Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi.

The public, especially the opponents of Imran Khan, and the media should take a deep breath and treat the proposal with due respect.

Pakistan on special US watch list

After holding military aid and putting Pakistan on notice, now the US government says it has put Pakistan on a special watch list for its severe violation of religious freedom. 

The military aid was severed for Pakistan’s failure to meet US expectations and follow ‘do more’ slogans. The military, however, insists that it has done too much not only for the sake of the US and Afghanistan but for the country itself. 

The new watch list for religious freedom reasons is, however, somewhat shocking. Ambassador to the United States Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry is also clueless about the new challenge and says they have asked the US government to clarify about the special watch list and what "severe violations of religious freedom" have prompted Washington to take such an extreme measures.

The US State Department, in a press release, last week had re-designated Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan as "Countries of Particular Concern" — an annual practice according to the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998. But the harsh words like ‘special watch list’ were reserved for Pakistan. The US stated reasons too: "In far too many places around the globe, people continue to be persecuted, unjustly prosecuted, or imprisoned for exercising their right to freedom of religion or belief," Thursday's release read. "Today, a number of governments infringe upon individuals’ ability to adapt, change, or renounce their religion or belief, worship in accordance with their religion or beliefs, or be free from coercion to practice a particular religion or belief."

The government of Donald Trump has been working systemically to pressure Pakistan for one reason or another, both under diplomatic channels and or through public announcements. US Vice-President Mike Pence publically announced that they had put Pakistan on notice. His boss, Donald Trump, went a step ahead, tweeting on January 1: “The United States has foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars in aid over the last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but lies & deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools. They give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more!”

In response to the tweet and other public and official announcements, Pakistan remained unprovoked and spoke about more engagements and cooperation to resolve the issues. On the domestic front, some people in the government quarters also talked about putting the house in order too. A few half-hearted steps were also taken. The charity of Hafiz Saeed, Falah Insaniat Foundation, has been banned, while Jammatud Dawa has also been banned. Besides that, the government first time acknowledged that they had taken several steps against the Haqqani network.  

Now, when Pakistan is under the international heat for “severe violations of religious freedom”, this statement should be taken with an open heart. Again, the house needs to be put in order first. Though on the government level, measures have been ensured for the protection of human rights and rights of religious freedom but at the public level, one can see people are being persecuted and killed for their religious beliefs. Ahmadis are routinely killed and socially outcast; Hindus in Sindh parts face pressure for conversion to Islam; Shia Hazaras are being killed for their sect and religious beleif, and the misuse of blasphemy laws is rampant.

Pakistan needs to ensure religious freedom and that can be done only through beating extremism and terrorism. 

There is no other way out.

Constable’s murder on road

Mustansar Hussain with his colleague Qasim was manning Khayaban Road in Lahore’s Defence area at a barrier on Sunday night the New Year Night -  randomly stopping and searching the cars with a casual gaze and a dimly lit torch in his hands before letting them go. His nerve-breaking hours-long duty might have exhausted him and he would be thinking about going home after midnight to hit the cozy bed when the New Year nigh rush slowed down. All his plans were shattered when a recklessly driven car ploughed into the barrier and then mowed him and his colleague in a matter of seconds. He died at the scene while his colleague survived the crash and he is struggling for life in a Lahore hospital. 

Road deaths do not make big news in Pakistan. For that reasons, police took the death of their colleague as a matter of his fate and a careless driving death case, which is bailable offence, and never reaches conclusion. This gruesome incident, however, was captured on the CCTV camera and its footage, uploaded by someone on the social media, went viral and unleashed public criticism on police for failing to do justice with their own colleagues.

Succumbing to the public pressure, police now have added terror and murder sections to the case, and also arrested three people, one driver and two other car passengers, in the case. Now, we hear the police are trying to save the skin of the owner of the car, who was allegedly driving the car. The family presented their faithful servant who took the death upon himself to save his master. As terror and murder sections have been added to the case, it is hoped that the police would now be able to glean the actual facts from the car riders and the driver.

The hopes of getting justice for the constable family diminishes in the wake of the release of Balochistan MPA Abdul Majeed Achakzai, who had also brazenly run over constable Atta Muhammad, manning a Quetta Road, on a fateful day. The CCTV footage on social media built up the momentum of resentment against the government for not taking action against the MPA. The pressure worked and the police were forced to arrest the rude lawmaker, who would taunt journalists at every hearing. After months of the lazy trail, the law of the land started showing its easy side for the symbol of road death. First, terror charges were dropped from the case. Later, he was granted bail. A jubilant crowd was awaiting him outside the jail. The victorious MPA came out of the jail. It seemed his reckless driving had mowed down the law of the land, not the poor road constable. 

Cantonment Division Investigation SP Dr Anoosh Chaudhry is certain that the deceased constable would get justice. The civil society, which has rightly devoted its energies to get punished the murderers of Shahzeb in Karachi, should also keep the road deaths of the Lahore constable and the Quetta constable on their agenda. Also, the Supreme Court chief justice should watch the proceedings of the cases.

Make the cases of constables’ deaths an example for reckless drivers.