Middle class Pakistanis hoard the most useless things in large volumes. Recently discovered a suitcase full of electricity and water bills from the 1980s at my parents’ place. (They moved out of that house 20 years ago but ‘pata nahi ho sakta hay zaroorat parh jaye’)
There is no argument good enough to justify eviction of any refugees, let alone those who have painstakingly built entire lives in Pakistan.
But this shameless govt fails to offer any, even half-baked, logic for it. Just a show of force against the most vulnerable.
Some personal news 🥁🥁(is this how it’s done?): Walking in an actual ceremony a *full year* after defending my thesis and being awarded my doctorate.
@FizzahSajjad
@LSEsociology
The horrific vigilante attack on factory in Sialkot & the burning alive of Sri Lankan manager is a day of shame for Pakistan. I am overseeing the investigations & let there be no mistake all those responsible will be punished with full severity of the law. Arrests are in progress
Win all 5 ❌
Win the remaining 4 ❌
Win the remaining 3 and hope one team wins all their matches ❌
Win the remaining 3 and pray for a parting of the Nile, demons devouring your opponents, (and 🇳🇱 beating 🇿🇦) ✅✅✅
8 yr old me on a domestic PIA flight gets a small carton of apple juice. I ask the steward if I can get orange or mango instead. Response: "apni seat se kharay ho jayein. dekhain ird gird, kisi aur ke paas aap ko apple ke ilaawa koi aur juice nazar aa raha hay?" ☠️
Have no advice for my graduating students except that I'd request you to not hunt for moral + emotional fulfilment in whatever you do to pay your bills. Great if it works out that way, but for many it might not & that's okay too. Find meaning elsewhere (relations, voluntary acts)
not sure why people think women have anything to gain by going public with a story about harassment, especially in Pakistan. Kya aap ne kabhi public responses nahi dekhay idher?
Harrowing details in Azam Swati's press conference. The military's impunity will burn everything to the ground, as we've seen in the smaller provinces for decades. Too many here bringing out ifs and buts when there should be none.
Diet of most Punjabis was largely gluten free a hundred years before it became a Whole Foods/Trader Joe's thing. Wheat rotis only gradually displaced millet (bajra), sorghum (jowar), gram (besan) and maize (makkai) chapatis in north and central Punjab around 80 odd years ago.
Every Ramzan I’m reminded of the glorious and short-lived all-you-can eat iftar deal at KFC. Ran for 2 or 3 yrs in the early 2000s but local gluttons destroyed whatever profit model the mgmt was relying on.
Zahid Hamid's resignation might defuse tensions today, but will enshrine permanent perception of 'guilt' . This bigoted, shitty society leaving him and his family no choice but to leave the country.
Hamza Abbasi is such a great caricature of the born-again, consumed-by-guilt-but-still-macho Muslim dunce. A fairly common breed in Pakistan, though sadly this one's become famous.
One unlucky boomer will get covid after getting vaccinated and it'll lead to an anti-vax whatsapp voicenote that will derail the entire vaccination drive in this country.
Thankfully seeing plenty of Musharraf-related reality checks today. One minor sin that occasionally goes unmentioned was his regime's promotion of CNG, i.e. an extremely blatant transfer of a natural resource subsidy to car-owners. Paying the price for it now.
(should be a) popular opinion: they are terrible, a waste of money and food, and incredibly taxing for underpaid restaurant workers. mat paisay zaaya karein kindly.
Total deaths caused by flooding this year are creeping up to the number seen in 2010, but relief efforts + general awareness are nowhere close. Who is being affected probably a big factor in this discrepancy.
As we approach election day, it's abundantly clear that out of all mainstream leaders (+ parties), the PPP under
@BBhuttoZardari
has carried out the most mature, dignified, and positive campaign.
It's a minor point in this larger tale of injustice, but I keep coming back to how Junaid Hafeez left Pakistan's top public sector medical college to pursue his interest in literature and teaching. What a sordid way to reward a dedicated, thinking individual.
Had the privilege to hear Aasia Bibi’s lawyer speak at a FemSoc event on campus a couple of weeks ago. Completely in awe of his moral clarity and the matter-of-fact disposition he held towards a patently life-threatening job. Hoping and praying for his safety.
Taking another step to combat smog in Lahore!
A cleanliness drive has started today, deploying four teams with 100 members each to clear the roads from dust. Focused on minimal disruption, this initiative aims to improve air quality without impacting traffic flow. Let's breathe
So government can't find any civilian competent enough for PTA, NDMA, Info Min, Housing Program, CPEC Authority, Nat Institute of Health etc etc.
#theekhogaya
Wikipedia is one of the greatest public goods in the world and the first port of call for nearly every curious thought and query. Banning it is such an unfathomably regressive move.
Dr. Ammar Jan, a law-abiding academic genuinely committed to social justice, has been arrested for participating in a protest by Pakistan’s regressive and thuggish security state apparatus. Please raise your voice against this blatant display of fascism.
#WhereIsAmmarJan
Student emailed me asking help for an assignment on political instability in Pakistan and prefaced it with “Professor since you have lived through both martial law and democracy…” ☠️
Grateful for all the messages from last night.
@nadir_hassan
was an immense presence in my life; one of my closest friends, & a singularly kind & empathetic human being.
Among the infinite consequences of this loss, I know watching his beloved
@LFC
will never be the same again.
Just went over a summary of the proposed health, welfare, and econ stimulus package developed by Govt of Punjab (
@GovtPunjabPK
). Looks really comprehensive and well thought out. Hope Fed Govt provides requisite support.
Large real estate developers shifting their plot/file business into tehsil-level cities (Kharian, Sarai Alamgir, MB Din, Gujjar Khan) is an extremely destructive trend.
PSA: only kids born after 2001 are allowed to say they never thought they'd see the day when Zardari or Sharif would go to jail. 45 year old ecstatic uncles saying the same just makes them look stupid.
In my view it’s high time that
@elonmusk
should think of launching
@Tesla
in Pakistan. To combat menaces like pollution and global warming, eco-friendly vehicles are need of the day. Mind you Evs are extremely cheap to maintain as compared to fuel driven cars.
@sherryrehman
5 years since I quit smoking, and I don't think I've ever gone more than 2 or 3 days at a stretch without thinking about having a cig. What a terrible thing to live with.
So kids, don't smoke. And if it's too late for that, don't quit.
No delivery of Dawn at my parents' place in DHA Lahore twice this week. Fwiw this was the first time our hawker missed a delivery in the last 14 years. Said there's a 'blockage' at the distributor's end.