The Universal Service Fund Company (USF), under the directions of
Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication, is all set to
distribute 18,000 smartphones worth millions of rupees with mobile
balance among the Benazir Income Support Program (BISP) without doing
any research work.
This
was revealed by the Ministry officials while briefing the National
Assembly Standing committee on Information Technology and
Telecommunication.
USF officials informed that a pilot project has
been framed under which 18,000 smart phones would be distributed among
the BISP beneficiaries.
However, when parliamentarians asked about
the rational, logic and research behind the project, officials informed
that the idea was to make the phone affordable for BSIP beneficiaries.
Further
BISP beneficiary could use it for communication purposes. However, they
admitted that no research was conducted and entire project was merely
based on proposals.
The committee also raised several questions on
the collection, utilization of over Rs. 100 billion Universal Service
Fund (USF) and role of Finance Ministry in its utilization as some
parliamentarians stated that it is allegedly reflected in foreign
reserves.
Capt (R) Muhammad Safdar repeatedly asked the Ministry
officials about the actual amount collected in the Fund; however,
Ministry officials remained mum. MNA Syed Ali Raza Abidi said that it is
reportedly around $2 billion.
Chairman expressed doubts about the collection and utilization of the USF.
“When
we came into the government, the USF money was around Rs 60 billion,
which is currently around Rs. 100 billion”, said Safdar, adding that
nobody knows about its where about.
Committee chairman said that
the USF money could be converted into dollars to make a lot of money,
while and because no one knows about where its stashed.
“Further
it can be parked in an account against which government can borrow huge
loans, as the Company lacks the capacity to utilize it”, the chairman
added.
Shahzia Marri said that Finance Minister reportedly take
decisions about the utilization of USF. If government has no role and
since its not government’s money then how can Finance Minister take
decision about the utilization of USF, she asked.
The committee directed the Ministry for giving complete details of USF collection and utilization in next meeting.
I drive down the Lahore-Multan Road as part of my daily commute everyday. Yesterday on my way back home from the office, a signboard showing a blood-soaked body of a road accident victim jumped out at me.
The sight was so grisly that I had to halt my car; my stomach churned as my mind registered the graphic image.
The provocative signboard put up by National Highway Authority and Motorway Police, who operate and administer the N-5 route, read:
"Caution: Wear Helmet...Save Life"
followed by:
"Watch your left and right before getting on the highway"
After regaining composure, I realised that the signboard was installed for public awareness.
To its credit, it may encourage bike riders to wear helmets. But my beef is with the explicitly graphic image of a road accident victim — how does it constitute public viewing?
Many will contend that graphic images have long been placed on cigarette packages to discourage people from smoking. However, there is one significant point we cannot discount while comparing the two: the audience is very different.
The signboard in question is out in the open for everyone, including naive, impressionable minors, to see.
Is it appropriate to burden them with gory images of traffic accident victims?
On the other hand, cigarettes packets are likely only purchased by those who smoke them.
Perturbed I went home that day with a question bothering me immensely: How could NHA and MP — two organisations for which I have immense respect — put up something utterly lacking in sensitivity and sensibility?
I was positive that they had merely emulated the image already put up somewhere else. I carried out a rigorous Internet search in a quest to find similar signboards. Hours of browsing only revealed a letter containing proposals regarding public interest signs addressed to the India Youth Secured Organisation.
It also included a sample of a signboard showing an image of an accident victim. Upon further research I found out that the idea was not implemented by the Indian police. This meant that the NHA signboard was the first of its kind.
Effects of gore
Research conducted by American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) shows that exposure to violent media (which includes the display of blood and gore) can lead to real-life violent behavior, while also harming children in other ways.
Moreover, gory and bloodied images can also contribute to sleeping problems due to nightmares.
Now imagine a school-going child, who uses the Lahore-Multan Road to commute, viewing this deeply troubling signboard every day.
What does the law say?
According to 8(2) and 8(3) of Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority's (Pemra) guidelines for media:
"Appropriate warning shall be given upfront for content which may be potentially disturbing or upsetting so as to enable a viewer to make an informed choice."
followed by:
"Scenes with violence or suffering such as close-up shots of persons brutally tortured or killed shall not be shown."
With such a code of conduct imposed on the media, it is apparent that the state realises that it is not okay to post graphic content that is intended to be shocking. And yet, these gory signboards are state-sponsored.
Yes, it is supremely important to have public awareness campaigns in a country where there is a blatant violation of traffic rules, and thousands lose their lives in road accidents annually but we should not be terrorised into good traffic awareness at the cost of our mental health.
ISLAMABAD: A Senate committee on Thursday objected to investment of Rs1.7 billion National Telecommunications Corporation funds in private banks.
Members of the committee had reasons to believe that NTC had made the investment in private banks without approval of Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunications in this case. They argued that some private banks were owned by foreign companies from other countries.
“Why did NTC, a government-based telecom service, invest such a huge amount with private banks, especially when we all know that foreign banks take their profits out of Pakistan?” said PPP Senator Rehman Malik.
Other members shared the concerns that investing huge sums with foreign banks benefited Pakistan little as they took 20pc plus profits to their home countries and recommended that all companies should invest in local banks.
However, Joint Secretary, MoIT, Syed Khalid Gardezi, explained to the members of the committee that the funds were invested following legal procedures.
The committee members were informed that all banks, including foreign banks operated under the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). The ministry of finance had also permitted public companies to invest with both government-owned, such as the National Bank of Pakistan, and privately-owned foreign banks.
“NTC never invests all its funds in one bank for security reasons. NTC invested with the private bank that offered the best interest rates. In this, a bank was offering the highest rate at 10.65pc, one of the best in the market,” said Syed Khalid Gardezi.
Khalid Gardezi who also heads the audit committee, Ministry of IT, said that NTC also preferred to do business with banks that were rated the best by the State Bank.
However, that chairman of the committee, Awami National Party (ANP), Senator Shahi Syed, and Senator Rehman Malik were not convinced by the arguments presented by the government official.
Both the members demanded the minutes of their past audit meetings to study and decide if the NTC had made the right choices of investing the Rs1.7bn in private banks.
Senator Shahi Syed also took up the matter of the controversial Prevention of Cyber Crime Bill, 2015, that has been pending since last year.
According to the IT industry and the civil society, the bill curbed human liberties and gave excessive policing powers to investigating authorities, particularly the Federal Investigation Authority (FIA).
Hastily approved by the National Assembly standing committee on IT, the bill was challenged in the parliament and sent to the Senate to address the concerns in the bill.
“The bill is too problematic. We must address whatever concerns have been raised in the bill and try to remove them,” said Shahi Syed who announced to discuss the bill when the committee meets next week.
PPP senator Karim Ahmed Khwaja urged the chairman to compare his copy of the cyber crime bill with the draft prepared by the Ministry of Information Technology.
Karim Khawaja has been pushing to get his points incorporated into the bill prepared by the ministry.
However, the ministry is reluctant to do so saying that it would create duplications. Karim Khawaja had threatened to block the passage of the draft bill in the Senate, if his copy of the cyber crime law were not considered by the ministry.
The senate committee has a deadline till Aug 16 to decide the fate of the bill.
PESHAWAR: The All Fata Political Parties Alliance has threatened to observe August 14 as black day if government fails to merge the tribal areas with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Addressing at news conference at Peshawar Press Club on Thursday, All Fata Political Parties Alliance president Haji Iqbal Afrdi said that tribal people had already requested the government to merge Fata with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa but some anti-reforms elements wanted to create hurdles to them.
He said that tribal people wanted repeal of Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR) because it was implemented by British rulers. “Now Fata is a part of Pakistan and the country’s laws should be implemented there,” he added.
The leaders of different parties in Fata including Zar Noor Afridi of JI, Ijaz Afridi of National Party, Nisar Khan of ANP and Mustafa of QWP were also present on the occasion.
Demand merger of tribal areas with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
They also asked the government to abolish FCR and introduce reforms in Fata so that tribal people could get rights like residents of settled areas.
Iqbal Afridi alleged that billions of rupees meant for development of Fata were embezzled owing to enforcement of FCR in tribal areas. Tribal people were pressurised and they could not dare to raise voice against the corrupt officials of political administration, he added.
Speaking on the occasion, Zar Noor Afridi said that the alliance wanted to bring more than 10 million people of Fata into mainstream. It was the only way to make progress, he said, adding that in present condition tribal people could not feel any change in their life, he added.
“People of Fata are deliberately kept backward and deprived of basic human rights and facilities including education, health, employment and others. That’s why instability is destiny of the tribal region,” he said.
Zar Noor Afridi said that they had heard about possible launch of military operation in Mohmand Agency. “Our suggestion is that it should be a targeted operation to avoid casualty of innocent people, loss of properties and dislocation of families,” he added.
Ijaz Afridi said on the occasion that prime minister should announce at least a package of Rs500 billion for rehabilitation and reconstruction of destroyed infrastructure in Fata. He said that tribal people rendered sacrifice for the integrity and sovereignty of the country.
The leaders of the alliance said that if their demands were not met till August 14, they would not only observe the independent day as a black day but would also launch a series of protest demonstrations to record their protest.
ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Thursday expressed his serious reservations over the assertions by some US congressmen and officials about Pakistan’s role in the war on terror.
“It is regrettable that the US parliamentarians have neither realisation nor awareness about the heavy price paid by Pakistan and Pakistanis in this war,” he told US Ambassador David Hale who called on him here.
Chaudhry Nisar said such statements evoked a strong reaction in Pakistan and warned that the trend of accusations and uncalled-for criticism over Pakistan’s sincere efforts for a durable peace in the region might create hindrance in the way of achieving mutual interests.
The minister said the successes achieved against terrorism were reflective of the serious efforts made by Pakistan for a secure future of the entire region.
Ambassador Hale said the US government acknowledged the gains made against terrorism, particularly in the Zarb-i-Azb military operation, and the efforts being made by Pakistan for peace in the region.
He praised the role played and steps taken by the interior ministry and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in the areas of security and immigration.
Pak-US relations, regional situation and cooperation between the two countries in diverse areas, including security, came under discussion during the meeting.
Meanwhile, the interior minister said that Pakistan, at all levels, was committed to thwarting all conspiracies against the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project.
“Both sides must be cautious about regional and global powers who do not want to see the CPEC becoming a reality for their own interests,” he said during a high-powered meeting with visiting Minister for State Security, Peoples Republic of China, Geng Huichang.
Chaudhry Nisar maintained that “secure and successful completion of the CPEC would add new dimensions to our friendship cementing our economic as well as strategic bond”. He noted that the CEPC would also help Pakistan and China expand their trade footprint in the region and beyond.
“The CPEC is not only a flagship project between the two countries, it also focuses on strategic depth of the Pak-China relationship,” he remarked.
About the security of Chinese citizens working across Pakistan in different development projects, including the CPEC, the interior minister pointed out that a special security division was already working under the army to secure the lives of Chinese workers.
Chinese Minister of State Security Geng Huichang appreciated Pakistan’s efforts in the fight against terrorism, especially the gains achieved under the Zarb-i-Azb operation.
ISLAMABAD: Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani on Thursday said the people of Pakistan are appalled at the views expressed by certain American law makers in the US Congress regarding Pakistan.
“This seems to have become an unfortunate pattern of blaming Pakistan for the mistakes made by US policy makers on Afghanistan and elsewhere in the Muslim world, which the recent Chilcot inquiry revealed,” Rabbani said in a statement.
Rabbani was responding to a US congressional panel which has demanded cutting off all US assistance to Pakistan to persuade Islamabad to act against the Afghan Taliban groups allegedly using its territory to launch operations into Afghanistan.
The Senate chairman alleged that such sentiments also demonstrate a marked lack of respect and recognition of the tremendous contribution made by the Pakistani people and the armed forces in its fight against terrorism.
“Given this context, it is not surprising that the people of Pakistan are now forced to ask the question whether they are dealing with friends or foes in the American congress,” Rabbani said.
He said that such statements from some of the US lawmakers are "a case of the pot calling kettle black, given their deplorable track record of double standards on areas such as human rights".
“Their conspicuous silence on the killings of unarmed civilians in Kashmir, the treatment being meted out to African-American in their own country and the effort to impose India on the NSG in violation of all norms of nuclear non-proliferation reflect this,” the chairman senate remarked.
Rabbani hoped that saner elements in US Congress will respond to such statements.
Vicious criticism by US Congress panel
A US congressional panel had demanded cutting off all US assistance to Pakistan to persuade Islamabad to act against the Afghan Taliban groups allegedly using its territory to launch operations into Afghanistan, a move that Foreign Affairs Adviser Sartaj Aziz said was motivated by “baseless concerns” of “a section of US lawmakers”.
Some US lawmakers and witnesses also suggested declaring Pakistan a state sponsor of terrorism and imposing economic sanctions if Islamabad did not eliminate the alleged terrorist safe havens on its territory.
The Tuesday afternoon hearing — “Pakistan: Friend or foe?” — produced more heat than expected and at some points it came close to challenging the country’s very existence as a sovereign state.
More than once Pakistan was called manipulative and accused of treating the United States like chumps.
“They are making chumps out of us. They see us we are being so stupid. It seems like paying the mafia,” said Congressman Matt Salmon, Chairman of the Asia and Pacific Subcommittee of House Foreign Affairs Committee.
“If I may use an undiplomatic term, we have been patsies,” said former US ambassador to Kabul, Baghdad and the United Nations, Zalmay Khalilzad.
Khalilzad, who is an ethnic Afghan, claimed that Pakistani leaders had gamed the American system for decades.
“Patsies chumps. Most Americans see out of this and yet our so-called leaders do not really get it,” said Salmon while endorsing Khalilzad’s views.
The comments, broadcast live on the internet, prompted the Pakistan embassy in Washington to clarify that the United States and Pakistan were still allies and there is “positive counterterrorism cooperation between the two countries”.
DHAKA: Bangladesh on Friday moved to regulate weekly sermons in hundreds of thousands of mosques as part of a stepped-up campaign to combat extremism, officials said.
The move comes after the deadly attack in an upscale Dhaka cafe in which 20 hostages were brutally shot and hacked to death in the nation's worst attack by suspected militants.
Since then, authorities have shut down Zakir Naik's Peace TV, and decided to monitor the social media and Friday sermons of local mosques in a bid to prevent radicalisation.
As part of the drive, the state-run Islamic Foundation, which works as a watchdog for mosques and religious establishments, has prepared a sermon for the main national mosque which it has asked other mosques to follow.
The sermon, which was published by the agency ahead of Friday's prayers, invokes holy verses and traditions of the Prophet Muhammed (PBUH) to rail against murderous extremism.
"Whoever kills a person unjustly, it is as though he has killed all mankind," it said, citing a verse of the Holy Quran.
It also quoted the Prophet (PBUH) as saying the killing of a human being is the biggest sin and urged parents to take good care of their children so they cannot be "brainwashed".
It was not clear how many of Bangladesh's mosques, which are run by independent neighbourhood lay committees, would follow the instructions.
But a senior police official said local administrations, police and regional Islamic Foundation officials would "monitor" the sermons.
Foundation chief Shamim Mohammad Afzal told AFP that the sermon had been distributed to more than 300,000 mosques.
"It is not mandatory but we hope the imams will follow our sermon or take their inspiration from it," he said.
"Our core message is there is no place for terrorism in Islam. We want to make sure our children cannot be brainwashed to commit an act of terrorism."
Islamic parties, who have strongly denounced the cafe siege and a string of other recent attacks on minorities, have criticised the sermon regulation as "undesirable".
"Long before the Foundation issued its instructions, our clerics have been vocal against terrorism," said Mufti Faiz Ullah, secretary general of Islamic Oikya Jote, a faith-based party.
Last month, just ahead of the cafe attack, a pro-government council of clerics issued a fatwa against violent jihad, which was endorsed by more than 100,000 imams.
bin Jackman must’ve been very pleased to get rid of him at last. But the damage had already been done.
Jackman’s victim was walking back to the pavilion, but with head held high and bat up in the air, acknowledging the applause from the crowd and his teammates — the first Pakistani to score 200 runs in a Test at cricket’s most iconic ground, the Lord’s.
For Mohsin Hasan Khan, that memory remains fresh. He cannot believe it’s been 34 years since he walked to the pitch and created history. It was a show of courage, bravery and resilience from a man born in Karachi who believed more in his abilities than the odds.
Mohsin was the first Pakistani to score 200 runs in a Test at Lord’s. — AFP
Only an ardent batsmen like Mohsin could craft an innings that would go on to become a cherished memory for generations of Pakistani cricketers.
In the summer of 1982, Pakistan were touring England for a three-match Test series. One-down in the series already, having lost a relatively low-scoring Edgbaston tie by 113 runs, Lord’s wanted something special from a side led by the charismatic Imran Khan, who had the likes of street-smart Javed Miandad, the tormentor Zaheer Abbas and the magician Abdul Qadir in his arsenal.
But it was the young Mohsin who stole the show. His ability to judge the ball movement on seaming conditions helped him see off the new ball and the danger of unexpected seam off the turf’s rough patches. What happened next made his contribution immortal.
“I was praying that I score at least fifty runs and give a good start to my team,” recalled the 61-year-old with a hearty laugh during an interview with Dawn.
“Imran was a very positive captain. After losing the first Test at Edgbaston, he told the team that we have to go and get a win. It was decided that if won the toss we will bat first, set up a target and go for the kill.”
From Dawn Archives: October 02, 1982.
Does he wonder about how unexpected it was for him to end up becoming the sole architect of a victory that continues to be talked about even to this day?
“It was a gift given to me by the Almighty,” says Mohsin. “I was batting on 199 when it started raining and the match was delayed for roughly three hours.
“I was quite relaxed, maybe because I hadn’t realised the importance of scoring a double ton by then. The media spoke to me during the break and told me that with one run, I would become only the seventh person in the world to get 200 at Lord’s.
“It was then that it struck me that I was on the verge on achieving something outstanding.”
Sitting in the dressing room and thinking about scoring just one run and of the consequences in case he could not do it was something that Mohsin will always remember.
Imran Khan’s career was defined by moments where he led a talented but volatile bunch of cricketers to improbable wins. — S&G and Barratts/EMPICS Sport
Imran is widely spoken about as a captain who understood his men better than anybody else, even more than themselves. There is a reason why Wasim Akram still calls him “skipper”, and Shoaib Akhtar once regretted not being able to play under his leadership.
“Imran came to me and asked: ‘How do you feel?’ I said I was comfortable but was a bit nervous,” Mohsin fondly remembers. “Imran told me: ‘I’m sure you’ll do it’.”
And Mohsin did it.
“By the grace of the Almighty, I reached the milestone on the second or the third ball. It was a very pleasing shock for me. But what gave that innings such significance was that it helped us win.”
From Dawn Archives: June 19, 1975.
Mohsin, who represented Pakistan in 48 Tests, is proud of how the team came out all guns blazing in the second innings and played like it was a One-day International.
“We needed 76 runs to win in a very short time so Javed opened with me and the rest is history,” he says. “I got the Man-of-the-Match award. I am thankful to God for giving me this honour.”
Pakistan scored at 5.84 runs an over and reached the target in 13.1 overs, finishing very close to the end of the day’s play.
The British press termed his innings as one of the best played at Lord’s.
“Some of the journalists came over after that innings and said it was the best 200 that they had witnessed and gave me the title, ‘Lord of Lord’s’,” Mohsin says. “I asked Trevor Jenkins, a very senior English journalist, why he had given me this title. He said of all the 200s scored, mine had been outstanding.”
The first innings at Lord’s was Mohsin’s 19th Test innings. In the previous 18, he had gone past 50 just twice.
Against England in Edgbaston in the first Test, Mohsin was only able to score 26 and 35. He still remembers how Jim Charles Laker, an English cricketer from the 1950s who was commentating during the tour, motivated him to concentrate on building his innings.
“After we won the toss and elected to bat, Imran came to the dressing room and told me Laker wanted to have a word with me,” Mohsin says.
Laker, who died four years after Mohsin’s heroics at Lord’s, had been following his batting. He was there when Pakistan toured England in 1978 — a series that saw Mohsin unable to convert good starts.
From Dawn Archives: October 10, 1982.
“Laker told me that I was a better player than those 30s and 40s,” Mohsin recalls. “It was such a morale booster.
After my innings, I went up to him and he smiled, saying: ‘Didn’t I tell you that you were better than 30s and 40s?’. I can never forget that.”
On Thursday, Pakistan’s “war time” captain Misbah-ul-Haq led yet another bunch of mercurial cricketers at the same hallowed ground against huge odds. Will there be another Lord of Lord’s?
Popular TV actor Megahan Markle, aka Rachel Zane inSuits, recently bonded with Priyanka Chopra and couldn't stop gushing about the Bajirao Mastani actor.
In an interview with PTI, Markle said that she dreamed of working alongside PeeCee in a Bollywood film.
“I would love to work with her on a film one day! I told her specifically that my dream is to work with her on a Bollywood film because I think it would be so much fun – she said I should do it!,” Meghan told PTI in an email interview.
She traced back to their first meet and said that the two have become "really good friends".
“Priyanka is unbelievable, she has become a really good friend. ELLE Magazine in the US hosted a dinner celebrating Women in TV (Priyanka was on one of their covers) and we met that night – turns out that she really likes Suits," she said.
And they have been keeping in touch since.
“And you know when you meet someone and you just ‘click’… It was just an easy, natural progression. We’ve managed to keep in touch via email and text and try to see each other whenever we’re both in the same town."
Seems like PeeCee has won yet another heart in Hollywood!
MUMBAI: He’s been accused of killing a homeless man, shooting dead an endangered animal and assaulting a former Miss World but it seems nothing can stop the box office appeal of Bollywood bad boy Salman Khan.
The Indian superstar’s latest blockbuster smashed records this week, just over a fortnight after he sparked fresh controversy by saying his heavy training schedule for the film left him feeling “like a raped woman”.
Sultan, in which Khan plays an ageing wrestler, enjoyed the highest-grossing opening weekend in Hindi cinema history, proving that for his legions of fans the body-building actor can do no wrong.
“I watch every Salman film. I love him. He is the reason I am in this profession,” Abhishek, a buff Mumbai fitness trainer, told AFP.
The actor known as bhai, enjoys a cult-like status in star-obsessed India, with the majority of his devotees young men who envy Khan for being unmarried at 50.
They are largely from Mumbai’s mass of migrant workers who eke out a hardscrabble living in the sprawling financial capital but dream of a more glamorous life.
Invariably, they emulate his hairstyle and fashion, wearing pirated t-shirts emblazoned with Khan’s charity 'Being Human'. At weekends they gather outside his home where Khan waves at fans from his balcony.
“He has always been the poster boy of a large section of the youth population,” filmmaker Nikkhil Advani, who directed Khan in 2007 romantic drama Salaam E Ishq, told AFP.
The majority are not on Twitter and are immune to social media outcries such as the one Khan sparked last month when his rape analogy made to a local news site went viral.
Khan has not apologised for the comments, as demanded by India’s National Commission for Women, but his father Salim Khan made an apology of sorts on his son’s behalf.
Hit-and-run case
Khan has starred in more than 100 films and television shows since his first hit Maine Pyar Kiya in the 1980s. But his personal life has long been dogged by controversy.
Although he was cleared last year of killing a homeless man in a late-night hit-and-run crash in 2002, that decision is now being challenged in the Supreme Court.
Khan is also battling allegations he used unlicensed arms to shoot an endangered Indian antelope for which he spent a week behind bars in 1998.
His image also took a hit when former Miss World and Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai accused Khan of assaulting her during a relationship which ended more than a decade ago. Khan has denied ever hitting any women.
The controversies haven’t stopped him becoming one of Bollywood’s most bankable stars with Sultan making over two billion rupees ($31 million) in the week since its July 6 release, according to industry estimates.
Khan earned more than $33 million in 2015 alone. His earnings have been boosted in recent years by regularly playing the lead in India’s annual Eid blockbuster, capitalising on one of the year’s major holidays.
Director Kabir Khan, who worked with Khan on the movieBajrangi Bhaijaan, believes his misdemeanours hint at a “vulnerability” that audiences relate to.
“He makes politically incorrect statements but that seems to endear him to audiences who see him the way he is,” he told AFP.
“He’s immensely popular because he wears his heart on his sleeve, he’s a bad boy and a brat, but then he does all this good work with 'Being Human'.
“His fans stand by him and overlook many of his indiscretions by saying his heart is in the right place.”
New admirers
Filmmakers say Khan’s popularity is sky-high as he’s now also winning over wealthier cinema-goers who previously tended to prefer the cleaner-cut images of Aamir Khan and Shah Rukh Khan.
Khan describes himself as a “humanitarian” on his Twitter profile and filmmaker Advani believes his “image makeover” has helped him persuade fans “to feel that he was always misunderstood and somewhat scapegoated”.
Khan’s following has been enhanced by his hosting of the Indian reality TV show Big Boss. He’s also won praise for taking on difficult roles, such as Sultan, where his weight fluctuates wildly.
“He isn’t just playing safe and holding on to the success, unlike some of his peers,” said Kabir Khan.
“Audiences are responding to that effort and he’s attracting audiences outside of the cult followers, including women and children. His fans are growing.”
LIKE most legislatures in the democratic world, committee hearings are mostly turgid, wonkish affairs that attract virtually no public interest.
But when known Pakistan-bashers gathered in the US Congress for a joint subcommittee hearing provocatively titled ‘Pakistan: Friend or Foe in the Fight against Terrorism?’ there was certainly going to be a spectacle.
Yet, what transpired during the hour-long hearing was extraordinary even by the already low standards that could be expected from a cast of characters that usually chides, berates and threatens Pakistan.
Not only were there epithets casually uttered and incendiary allegations tossed around like irrefutable fact, the range of punitive measures discussed bordered on the pathological.
One of the so-called expert witnesses called to testify on Pakistan suggested a travel ban to the US for Pakistani citizens, including students.
Earlier in the session, a congressman made a number of wild accusations about militancy in Sindh. By the time a notorious Pakistan-bashing congressman spewed hate about Balochistan and the Pakistani state, the reasonable observer could have been forgiven for wondering if a collective madness had overcome the room.
To be sure, there are continuing and important questions to be asked of the Pakistani state’s anti-militancy policy.
The army leadership has in the last week explicitly indicated that it will act against those using Pakistani soil for attacks inside Afghanistan, but that extraordinary commitment remains to be tested.
Yet, no sober, realistic or honest appraisal of what has transpired in Afghanistan over the past decade and a half can possibly lay the bulk of the blame for that country’s continuing instability and insecurity at Pakistan’s doorstep.
Indeed, when asked about his and the US government’s support for Hamid Karzai as the post-Taliban leader of Afghanistan, former ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad offered a weak defence, citing the need for a Pakhtun leader in Afghanistan.
But few American officials would deny that the Karzai era proved to be hugely damaging for Afghanistan itself — the opportunity to build institutions and a somewhat viable state was lost to the preferences and choices of Mr Karzai who put self-interest first.
Moreover, no rational outside observer would suggest that the US has ever had a viable or realistic strategy in Afghanistan. No one should forget Gen Stanley McChrystal’s infamous “We’ve got a government in a box, ready to roll in” boast.
The arguments over Afghanistan, what went wrong and who is to blame can be endless because they are mostly rooted in political and strategic preferences of those arguing.
What is undeniable, however, is that wild and vicious comments from the US Congress have the potential to stoke anti-Americanism here in Pakistan and make it significantly more difficult for reasonable voices on both sides to engage in healthy debate.
Democratic norms prevent calling for a ban on political speech, but perhaps sensible voices in the US can speak out with clarity on Pakistan right now.
So I may have run inside the men's restroom today. No, it wasn't like the ladies' room was full and I had an emergency. But I had to go in there... to catch a Pokemon. Because I wanna be the very best, like no one ever was.
Such is the dilemma faced by Pokémon Go players around the world, and now, in Pakistan.
For those who don't know about Pokémon (because you've been sleeping under a rock for the past two decades), Pokémon, short for Pocket Monsters, is a Nintendo franchise that started out as a video game in 1996 and became a popular TV series that shows a world where these creatures live. The players act as 'trainers'; they have to catch the Pokémon and train them for battles against other trainers.
With the launch of Pokémon GO, old and new Pokémon fans like myself are happy because to catch them is my real test, to train them is my cause. We get to finally travel across the land, searching far and wide (okay okay, I'll stop! But admit it, you were singing it too) - and that too literally!
The free-to-play augmented reality game actually has you getting off your seats and running around finding Pokémon. The game transforms your current environment into a fantastical world inhabited by Pokémon. How? It accesses your camera and GPS to place its animated figures in your space.
You're the trainer and your phone is like the glasses that lets you see nearby Pokemon.
I had to have this. I just had to. I grew up on Pokemon! I've played most of the Pokémon games out there, from cards to video games, but this one's different. The draw of Pokémon Go is that it gets me up and moving around, not just sitting in one place with a joypad. Who'd have thought that all you needed to be a Pokemon trainer was a good internet connection and GPS.
Twenty minutes in, I was hooked
The game is simple in terms of gameplay; your phone shows you if there is a Pokemon nearby and you have to go to that location, and your trainer character moves as you do. Once you locate a Pokémon, you try to catch it by throwing a Poké ball with the flick of your finger. The more Pokémon you catch, the larger your collection and the more you level up as a trainer. You can train your Pokémon, have them battle for you and even trade it with other trainers.
Pokémon Go has not officially been launched in Pakistan, but that's only the first of the challenges of playing the game here.
Here's a little news flash. This is Karachi. Not really the most walking-with-your-phone-out friendly place in the world. And since it is augmented reality, your GPS uses landmarks and turns them into Pokestops (where you replenish your weapons, i.e., Poké balls) and gyms (where you train).
Can you guess these locations?
Do you know where the nearest pokestop to my place is? Amasjid. Yeap. So far, it's either mosques or roundabouts. Considering the security issue, I highly doubt people will be roaming around chowrangis in order to replenish their stock... because... there will be people with guns looking forward to replenish their stock... I did find a way though, just drive by pokestops very slowly.
Another frustration of playing the game in Pakistan? People don't understand why the heck you want to dart into their personal spaces with your phone out. I had a friend begging the manager of a restaurant to let him in the kitchen because there was a Snorlax in there. Another almost went inside Imam Barah because it was showing as a pokestop.
The app also tracks how far you've walked for some tasks, like hatching an egg. That seems rather problematic. A number of female players are annoyed as they have no place to walk around or go out to. I had found a Machamp within my apartments and asked Dad if he wanted to walk with me. He was amused but raised a good question, "What about those kids who don't live in apartment complexes?"
Well, they did warn us...
Even for guys, let's be honest, no roundabout is secure enough to have your phone out. A number of things can go wrong from mobile snatchers to security at a VIP movement thinking you're up to something. When a friend joked 'good thing jaywalking isn't an issue here,' it genuinely made me concerned about the risk of kids running across the street carelessly. No Charmander is worth running around Boat Basin, people!
But Pokemon Go also has its own charm of playing it in Pakistan. I have friends traveling to Seaview to find water-based Pokemon (GPS does that too, the Pokemon you find will vary with your location) and a park near a cousin's place is a 'gym' so he has been very social with his friends and family because we all need to train there.
I made a trip to the mall and noticed many kids running around staring at their phones and, knowing what they were up to, I asked them why they came there. More than half said they decided to accompany their family's shopping trip. Good job Pokemon, you're bonding families together!
Once the app officially launches here, I'm sure there will be better locations selected. There is also the issue of proper internet connection because sometimes you'll be on a Pokemon's heels and the glitch will have it get away.
The game needs some work in terms of glitches and more gameplay, but it is an amazing experience. My colleagues definitely got a kick out of me running around the office chasing after a Growleth. I don't mind... I know it's my destiny! Yes... I had to...
Overall, I think it's fun and definitely a unique experience. Nintendo definitely found a way to get some exercise into our routines and I can't wait for the official launch 'cause I gotta catch 'em all!
