Adil Najam

I must confess that the goriness of my last post still leaves me drained and shaken. I offer this picture post on the simpler pleasures of life in Pakistan, partly as a way of shaking myself off the shivers but much more as a way to highlight that not only is another Pakistan possible, another Pakistan actually exists.

It is the Pakistan of this naai (desi barber) in this beautiful picture, from K.M. Chaudary of AP, who has set up his “open-air” barber shop by the canal in Lahore and, while waiting for customers to show up, decides to give himself a little grooming. The charming composition as well as the subject reminds me not only of my own memories (the best shave I ever had - after a period of growing an unruly beard - was from one such naee), but of the fact that very vast majority of Pakistanis are neither robbers who would hold children hostage nor a community of such unbridled anger that it would burn that robber alive. One must never forget this reality either. Largely because this reality gives hope and the possibility of better things. The reality of yesterday only breeds more anger and discontent.

This is not to say that we should ignore or underplay the reality of desperate people brutally burning robbers to death. We at ATP did not. It is to say, however, that the only thing worse than ignoring the ugliness amongst our own is to let it define the entirety of who we are; to let that ugliness make us forget all the beauty that also exists.

Adil Najam

For nearly two days now I have been debating whether to put up this post and, especially, the accompanying photograph. A shiver runs through my body to think about, let alone see, this picture.

But as we have done before (here, here, here, here, here, here) we put up this picture of mob vigilante violence - with the strongest possible advisement for caution by the faint of heart - not because we wish to glorify or fetishize violence but because we want to jolt ourselves, and you, into a realization of just what a horrible, horrifying and horrendous epidemic of violence is spreading through our land.

Recently we had heard of people in Multan reacting to the energy shortage by violently attacking WAPDA offices and officials. Now, one reads of a much more horrifying spectacle of residents in Karachi on May 14 burning alive robbers; two died at the spot and another later in the hospital (details below).

We had called 2007 “A Year of Angst and Anger.” But maybe we live in the age of angst and anger.

Owais Mughal

Last year we carried out this post on Polio Vaccination Drive Facing Threat in Pakistan. In a disturbing development, polio which had almost been eradicated from Pakistan is making a resurgence.

The target of getting Pakistan polio free was for 2010 but according to Dawn news report of May 15, 2008, eight cases have so far been reported in this year alone. All of these 2008 cases so far belong to Sindh province. This shows the rebirth as well as spread of the virus. It is said that peak transmission season of polio starts in June. Doctors also say that if a single case of polio is reported in any part of a country it indicates outbreak of the disease.

Nadeem Omar

This photographs from F.E. Chaudhry depicts Chacha’s ability to turn a news story into a human story.

A narrative photograph of the Punjabi victims of the 1950 flood in the wake of which nearly three thousands perished. Their villages and homes submerged, a family has taken refuge in a railway bogey, which serves as a kitchen as well as shelter from the blistering heat.

Syed Ahsan Ali

Recently PPP’s co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari told media categorically that we were not elected for the restoration of judges but for basic issues such as roti, kapra aur makaan. Since then factions in media have been trying to build up an argument about what is more essential, our basic necessities or restoration of an individual?

I am not going to ponder here about what did we vote for? But I’d like to draw the attention of all of my readers towards another thing which becomes a norm now in Pakistan society. We are turning into “us” and “them” kind of people who are always standing on one side of the line. As the famous line from Rodney King after the Los Angeles riots goes, “Why Can’t We All Just Get Along?”

Adil Najam

Sometimes the only way to deal with a really serious situation is to make it funny. So, here is our little experiment to see what words you would put into the “leaders” mouth (please, no batameezi!).

So, basically, here is the storyline we all know so well. What we do not know is what these guys have been actually thinking and saying.

Adil Najam

Not unexpectedly, the Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz Group has decided to quit from all cabinet positions in the coalition government it had so recently formed with Asif Zardari’s PPP.

According to The News:

Following the failure of London talks on the reinstatement of judges; Pakistan Muslim League (PML)-N has decided to resign from federal cabinet in central executive committee meeting underway here. Earlier, federal ministers reached to attend the meeting without official car and other privileges. The meeting has discussed that coalition with Peoples Party was made for the restoration of deposed judges but Peoples Party has failed to fulfill its commitment therefore PML-N has decided to quit the coalition.

The report here says that they have “quit the coalition” but other rumblings suggest that they have only left the cabinet and will continue to work with the PPP on the ouster of Gen. Musharraf. That, however, remains to be seen.