Thursday, July 29, 2010

The Curious Case of a Suicide Bombing

Well recently I was asked by a near and dear one, about what I feel about suicide bombings! Well nobody likes them, especially when they are killing civilians. And the ones happening recently, have been denounced by all religious scholars as well.

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Plane Crash and Us

The day started with bad news and although the day was pretty hectic the general tinge of sadness never left.

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Butt's secret mentor

Salman Butt has a secret mentor. Who is he? No idea.
http://www.cricinfo.com/pakistan-v-australia-2010/content/current/story/467704.html

That was one the one pieces of advice I got from a man, whose name I don't want to reveal at the moment. He was one of the best batsman I saw opening the innings. He just told me "watch the ball from the time it starts form the bowler's hand till it reaches you and let your body react to it." It has worked

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Asfandyar unfazed after suicide attack


By Faiz Muhammad


CHARSADDA, Oct 3: Investigators probing into the attack on Awami National Party chief Asfandyar Wali Khan in Walibagh on Thursday have claimed to have found important clues which could lead to the group behind the suicide bombing. Five people were killed in the attack.

“We have two leads and we are looking into both. It will take three to four days before we say anything with authority,” Additional Inspector General (Investigation) Safwat Ghayyur told Dawn on Friday.

According to him, the suicide bomber, of medium height and in his late 20s, charged towards the ANP leader who was exchanging Eid greetings with activists of his party in his ancestral Walibagh.

“I was there in my hujra and receiving Eid greetings. I had seen off about thirty-five people, when I saw this bomber running towards me,” Mr Khan told reporters.

“Policemen were firing at the bomber but there were only specks of dust. My bodyguard got hold of him and then there was a big explosion,” he said, adding that bombings could not deter him or his party from pursuing the policy of working for peace in the region.

The AIG said: “When the bomber was being frisked, he pulled himself away and started running towards Mr Asfandyar Wali. The Special Branch fired at him and that caused commotion.”The policemen and Mr Khan’s personal bodyguard also fired at the bomber.

The bomber is said to have received eight shots but that didn’t slow him down. He said it appeared that the man had been drugged and he did not feel any pain. “At one stage, he fell but got up again.”

Mr Khan’s bodyguard then shot at his forehead and as the bomber fell he detonated the bomb.

The investigators said the bomber was only 14 feet away when he started running towards Mr Khan but ANP activists sensed the danger and him inside the house.

The blast left five people dead, including the bodyguard, police constable Shabir Khan, ANP’s Buner district deputy president Shamsuzzaman Khan and bank officer Fazal Ghani.

Mr Khan and his family were flown to Islamabad immediately after the incident. Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti and senior ANP leaders, who had rushed to the place, saw him off.

Body parts of the bomber have been sent to a lab for DNA test.

The explosion was so powerful that ears of the bomber were found about 200 meters away from the blast site.A team of FIA and the investigation branch of the NWFP police held differing views over the type of chemicals used in the bombing.

The FIA believed that it was a low-intensity phosphate/nitrate mix, but the police department said the suicide vest was made of plastic explosives.

The bomber had used a manual trigger which, according to the investigation team, was widely used in suicide bombings in the neighbouring Mohmand tribal region.

The group involved in two suicide attacks on former interior minister Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao in Charsadda was also linked to Mohmand Agency. But the investigators said it would be premature to say which group was involved.

“The manual mechanism used in the bombing points to links with Mohmand and not with Swat where suicide bombers use electronic circuitry,” an official said.

So far no arrest has been made.

Monday, July 12, 2010

FIFA's Rugby 2010 is Over!

FIFA 2010 is over and Spain are the champions. Although it is still to be decided, whether what we saw was a football or a rugby tournament. Football has changed drastically and mainly because of one team, and that is Netherlands. They have embedded the art of foul into their tactics/game plan. And this is not something new which they have done. They had done the same thing in field hockey. Football, like hockey, is a field game, and the only thing that catches the eye is the flow and pace of a team. Scoring goals is like icing on the cake. Netherlands has a hockey team as well, and in order to break the flow of champion teams like Pakistan, India and Germany, they embedded foul play into their game plan. Once their opponents are in the flow, the Netherlands would easily commit a foul, take the yellow card and give the free kick/hit to their opponent.

The chance of scoring a field goal is higher than scoring a goal through free kicks/hits. As in latter, the number of defenders increases considerably.

Netherlands is killing football unless FIFA takes some stern action.

Anyways, for us, its back to Cricket i.e. truly a Gentleman's game. Pakistan has an important uphill battle against the two best test sides. Lets see what happens.

The basics of Pakistan

Pakistan ka Matlab kya?

Pakistan came into being on 14th August 1947. The basis of Pakistan was the "Two Nation Theory", which basically meant that Hindus and Muslims are a separate nation and no matter how much efforts are made to reconcile them, all such actions, in the end, would be fruitless. History has and current affairs continue to give us a shining proof of this theory. Who can argue on this point after reading the plight of thousands of massacred Muslim men, women and children, during their migration to the land of pure in 1947. Who can deny the Two Nation Theory, after seeing with our own eyes, the fate of thousands of Muslims burned alive on the whims of the Gujrat CM, the criminal Modi?

Nowadays a scheme is being brewed by the so-called liberals that Pakistan was designed as a secular state by our founding fathers. While befitting replies have been given to them on several forums and occasions but probably the most plausible reply to their claim is the 'Two Nation Theory' itself. If Pakistan was to be a secular state, then what exactly does the Two Nation Theory mean? Why did our founding fathers put forward the demands of Pakistan on the basis of the Two Nation Theory? What is the meaning of Quaid-e-Azam's historical address of 1940, wherein he said,

"Mussalmans are a nation according to any definition of nation. We wish our people to develop to the fullest spiritual, cultural, economic, social and political life in a way that we think best and in consonance with our own ideals and according to the genius of our people".

What does 'our own ideals' and 'genius of our people' mean? Doesn't it mean that 'our own Muslim ideals' and the 'genious of our Muslim people'? Why did they strive to make Islamic Republic of Pakistan when they could have very easily worked to make a safe haven in the secular United Republic of Hindustan?

Shouldn't the Quaid's ideal of 'Modern Islamic State' mean a state which will embrace all modernity as long as it maintains the state's Islamic identity?

I strongly believe that our so called liberal brothers are trying to play with the Quaid's words to only further their own wishes. Because nobody in Pakistan, nobody, is ready to believe the only other possible alternate i.e. the Quaid giving a false slogan to the Muslims of the sub-continent just to garner support. Nobody can ever believe that the unbreakable political integrity of the Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah would sink as low as the political integrity of our current fickle political elite. The Quaid's political stature even today, is untarnished and unblemished. On numerous occasions he has based his politics on pure integrity and firm belief. One of the shiniest examples of which was demonstrated when he declined to use such a high bargaining chip as the Nehru love letters.

Truth be told, it was the strong belief of both the Muslim leadership and the Muslim nation, in the slogan 'Pakistan ka matlab kya, la illaha ilAllah', that resulted in the birth of the miracle of Pakistan. For this slogan clearly indicated to every Muslim, that there are no wishes except for the wishes of Allah, and only HIS wishes would make the land of the pure a spiritual, cultural, economic, social and political super power.

Today Pakistan is burning. Pakistan is burning in conflict, despair, poverty, corruption, hopelessness and abject surrender. We today are divided and dis-illusioned. So much so that many of us have even started questioning the two nation theory. While some of us are wondering that how come this very Pakistani nation stood and braved the storm created in the sub-continent against the Muslims, by the jingoistic hindu majority with the help of the super power of that era, the British. How was it that we achieved our dream to have our very own Modern Islamic State?

For all those wondering and hoping for the birth of the same Muslim nation, the solution lies in our past. We need to reerect the 3 pillars of the Quaid and to restart the chant of the ever popular slogan. For only 'La Illaha IlAllah' would re-unite our divided nation; return the faith which makes us see the goal and not the challenges; and re-inculcate the necessary discipline, required to make us achieve our goals. For only 'La Illaha IlAllah' would give us Unity, Faith and Discipline to achieve the Quaid's dream of a 'Modern Islamic State'.

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Quran Explorer

Found an amazing website hosting the Holy Quran. It is loaded with features.

1. Recitation in the voice of 9 different reciters.
2. Translations in different languages like Urdu, English, French, Turkish, Spanish etc.
3. An easy interface to jump to any Surah or Aayah.
4. Color coded rules of Tajweed.
5. Zoom in and Zoom out feaure.
6. Bookmark feature.
7. Search feature.



Type in Urdu!

Sometimes you would want to type a letter in Urdu. Okay, okay I know that would be, like, never... As in this day and age of twitter, SMS etc, its even hard to get to read a normal English sentence. One guy I was chatting with on MySpace, was like 'WOW, you write full English sentences! With dots and all!'

But still maybe if you want to impress someone then you can use the following link to do that.

http://www.typeurdu.com

You can type by clicking the keyboard OR you can type from your keyboard directly. The letter translations are pretty simple. e.g. H for 'Ha', K for 'Kaaf' etc.

ایک منٹ میں اردو کمپیوٹر پر لکھنا سیکھیں

Cool isn't it!

Bowling Saqi Bowling!

An interesting article in Cricinfo. I am sure you will enjoy as much as I did.

Read it here

Friday, July 9, 2010

Crowds At Edgbaston

The recently concluded two match Twenty20 series between Australia and Pakistan, were actually Pakistan's home series arranged in England, due to the security situation in Pakistan. It was a full house and the crowds were mainly (around 99%) Pakistanis and they totally gave a feeling of home series. Not even a single Australian moment was clapped or even appreciated! WOW! Definitely a home away from home! And in some ways better for the Pakistani team, because our bowlers won't be sweating it out on completely dead pitches. Waiting impatiently for the test series to start. Hopefully similar crowds will be back for Test Cricket as well.

Insignificant Particles of Sand

As man progresses, he looks at certain things with more and more insignificance. And what more insignificant than a tiny dust particle! Right?

Well none of Allah's creations are insignificant. No matter how much progress a man makes, he stays, as always at the mercy of Allah. For things as insignificant as dust particles, can be turned against us by the commands of Allah. Look below to some of the pics of the dust storm in Kuwait








Saturday, July 3, 2010

Nokia N8

Knock Knock Nokia N8 is here. My my. Is this a phone or what! Simply Amahzing!

http://events.nokia.com/NokiaN8/