Show: News & Reviews

Hosts: Adnan Maqbool and Ayesha Tajwar

Topic: Zardari’s trip to Chicago, energy crisis still a crisis, NATO supply routes and more

Description: According to the news, President Asif Ali Zardari has met with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Afghanistan’s President Hamid Karzai in the first bilateral meetings held by the Pakistani delegation on the sidelines of the Nato summit on Sunday.

Adnan’s named this meeting “Chicago Bulls” and he explains why. Also, President Zardari seems to be seated in a very comfortable surrounding. You have to look at the picture to find out.

Pakistan’s role has become crucial for it’s being pressurized to open the NATO routes. Do you think the routes will be opened?

The Turkish Prime Minister has been visiting Pakistan and addressed the parliament earlier today. He said that Turkey will always stand by Pakistan in its time of need. He said the two countries would continue to strengthen their close ties in different fields.

Do you think the people of Pakistan will ever see economic stability in the country?

Language: Urdu

Journalist: Faisal Qureshi

Topic: Sadar Asif Ali Zardari kay naam aik aajizana paighaam

Description: The people of Pakistan have finally realized that President Asif Ali Zardari is not as bad as they say he is. He has love for them in his heart and he does care. If everyone was polite and spoke nicely to him, maybe he would change the fate of the entire nation.

Here’s Faisal Qureshi saying his humble salutations and prayers to President Zardari and requesting him to address  his loyal ministers to put an end to corruption and serve the people for once.

Language: Urdu

Written By: Omair Alavi

The Pakistani government and its officials seem to have no pastime at all – they don’t do anything constructive for the people nor are they interested in anything else other than winning the elections. We all know that the officials have all the time in the world for doing nothing, and that might be one of the reasons why they banned Twitter for a day last week – just to check the reaction of the public. But why such an act by the government was termed as a step to stop the Tsumani, is still unclear?

The problem with the emerging political parties of the country is exactly the same as the Pakistan cricket team – they both look good on paper. The real battle field is a different ball game altogether, where the fittest survives and the one that doesn’t have it, doesn’t usually win it! We all know that Pakistan Teheek-e-Insaaf is one of the emerging parties in the country and they love blaming the government and the system for steering the country into the wrong direction. But hey, aren’t the rest of the parties doing the same thing as well – the ones in the opposition that is. Jamaat-e-Islaami, Tehreek-e-Istaqlaal and others who have never ruled the country are also criticizing the government for everything from rise in prices to load shedding and energy crisis. Therefore, it is safe to assume that Tehreek-e-Insaaf in fact joined their cause rather than doing something different!

And mind you, having supporters who use Twitter and Facebook to spread the message around is not something ‘different’. That’s what only a handful of people in the country can understand as most of the population can’t read Urdu, let alone converse in English (or Roman English!). I know people would love to hate for saying this but Twitter and Facebook are social websites for interaction, not political playground for those who look good on paper only. Out there is where the battle will be won.

Comparing Imran Khan to Mohammad Ali Jinnah is not how the voters will be convinced. If that would have been the case, Fatima Jinnah would have been the Governor General / Prime Minister of Pakistan after her brother’s death since she was the closest to him and understood his ideology. But she didn’t and that’s how things work in the real world. We all know that Imran Khan is one of the most loved person in the country right now. He has done so much for the poor population of the country and if he is given the chance, he can make things right. But whatever he has done, he did before he had die-hard supporters, before he entered mainstream politics (he became a mainstream politician a handful of years back) and before he had followers with blackberries and social website accounts!

Mind you, had Twitter and Facebook been there in 1947, I am sure no person would have died, and no country would have been created because then only the elites would have had access to it, and they would have used it to show off, rather than go for a country for the Muslims of the United India. Therefore, my advice to those who believe that banning Twitter is like banning their political party: Get a life! Change might be there in the air, but one has to go for it, rather than post tweets and status updates for change. The easiest route to criticism is blaming those responsible; fixing the problem is the best way to succeed!

Written By: Shahzeb Hussain

They say that no place is like home, and that you’re most comfortable under the roof of your own home than any other place on this planet. They also say that you are most comfortable with your own kind (Are they talking about humans?). What ‘kind’ are they talking about? Species wise? Last time I checked, we were all humans (unless your part of some weird freak experiment). So what is this ‘kind’?

Ever since the dawn of man, humans have divided themselves into groups, communities, societies, only to have further divisions amongst them. The caste system has been a part of this world since ancient times. Different sects of people, categorizing them by religion, color, family names and what not, and the fact remains that such ignorance is still present in our societies till this very day.

I mean I understand the feeling of being at ease with your own people, if I were to ever go to China, I’d feel, well, like a stranger in the midst of strangers. However, that’s just me feeling a little awkward in front of people I don’t know, or being in an environment I’m not familiar with. Discrimination against me, by these people is what troubles me, and being discriminated against, by your very own people is what bothers me even more. In Pakistan we have Pakistanis, and amongst them, are the Sindhis, Balochis, the Pathans, and what not.

Now even in these divisions there are further divisions, categorized by family, lineage, etc. Why? People, are more comfortable amongst those who are of the same background, but where does the discrimination come from?

What year is this?

A lot of people get married to their own kind. Parents are comfortable with the idea of someone from within their community, no outsider, yada yada. Fathers feel a little better giving their daughter away to someone who is within the community. That’s all fine and dandy, but it doesn’t have to be the only way.

Moms telling their sons that, they wouldn’t accept a “gori” (American woman) as their daughter in law, or the Pakistani mom mentality where the girl should have fair complexion and anything less will not do.

A lot of families marry only within the family or community, whether it’s to keep the money within the community/family or tradition or lineage, or just pride, but because of that, everybody else is rejected by default.

Times have changed people are more liberal, people are more tolerant, less ignorant, but then you have these old customs that seem completely out of order. Not to say customs and or traditions are not important, one must never forget them.

However this discrimination from people based on their castes, where does this come from? Even in our religion the caste system is not allowed. So why do people continue to make decision based on their caste? Is it pride? Is it preservation of a lineage? Is it trust? What is it?

Let us know!

Show: Out Of Bounds

Hosts: Faisal Kapdia

Topic: Inauguration of The Orange Tree

Description: The Orange Tree is a Mother & Child Support Program in Pakistan. It is inspired by the Kiran School System in Lyari that aims to provide Montessori education to children for a year and teach mothers English Language and vocational skills. The mothers will also learn how to self-groom themselves through a proper process.

Language: Urdu and English

Show: Campus Awaz

Host: Faisal Qureshi

Topic: Pakistan main kaamyaab hona mumkin hai

Description: It is very easy for foreign institutions to select the most intelligent students from Pakistan, hand them a scholarship and send them abroad. Those students become very successful engineers, doctors, architects and what not. What’s left in Pakistan, is nothing.

The amount of money invested in foreign education could built a hundred universities in Pakistan. But no, it hasn’t happened. Though people accuse Pakistan of not developing, there are still people who are tremendously successful by living here.

So success is possible in Pakistan. But why don’t people believe in it?

Language: Urdu

Show: Economic Views

Host: Zeeshan Merchant

Topic: Regional trade beneficial for Pakistan?

Description: Pakistan has been trying to grow its regional trade. Question is: Is it beneficial for Pakistan? Is there an opportunity for it to grow here?

Language: Urdu

Show: The Infamous Five

Participants: Adnan Maqbool, Ayesha Tajwar, Hibah Naz and Shiroy Mansoor Ali

Topic: Pakistani journalists can be bought?

Description: A news has been spread via email that an American has claimed that Pakistani journalists can be bought over a cup of coffee. He even took names of those specific prime time analysts who can or already have been bought by the western countries.

How far do you think this news is true? Do you think our journalists can be sold that easily? If this is true, how do you feel about it?

Language: Urdu

Written By: Omair Alavi

The teachers may not agree, the parents would consider my stance rebellious and friends would call me a chicken, but the truth is that going to school in Pakistan is more of a nightmare, than a dream come true. The latest case featuring a 13-year old student in Faisalabad is an eye opener as the student (and his parents) claims that he burnt himself after the headmaster refused him an entry in the building. The headmaster on the other hand claims that the father is to blame since the child was absent for nearly a week, and was unable to bring his father to the school to get reinstated as a student.

Whatever the case, I believe schools and education institutions are the villains here because of their rules and regulations. The teachers, supposed to instill confidence at the youngsters whose parents have entrusted their children to them, are to be blamed specifically. I know that for a fact because my Sindhi teacher in school was one of the most loving characters, and that’s why I managed to score 72 out of 75 marks in the board examination, despite never reading Sindhi before Class IX! On the other hand, the Islamiyat teacher was also settling scores with me, because I had done his parody in a function, and thus I didn’t get the marks I was expecting.

It was in the 90s that the Board of Secondary Education decided to hire teachers who have at least done graduation, and that created a stir amongst small schools since they didn’t have teachers with a degree. Most employed former students who had done matriculation from the same institution and were looking for jobs during the intermediate break while others went for those old ladies who had nothing else to do after disposing off their children (read getting their children married). In a renowned school, there was a science teacher who was without doubt born in the days of pre-electric iron, yet she was teaching science, or trying to. I had a Pakistan Studies teacher who spoke so fast that we couldn’t understand anything, yet he was there because he was an experienced teacher (frankly he seemed a distant relative of Quaid-e-Azam!)

Parents believe that by sending their kids to reputable schools, they are doing their part, but that’s totally wrong. Their role in checking on their kids is as important as the teachers’, and they should open themselves to their child(ren) in order to know how he/she feels about going to school. My mother isn’t well versed in English because she hated the subject when in school, yet she always kept a check on me, asking questions and checking my copies, and that’s one of the reasons why I don’t hate the subject at all. I am sure all those reading this would agree that the undivided attention of a parent or both makes a hell of a difference.

Coming back to the case of the kid in Faisalabad, I don’t want to debate whether his father is lying or the headmaster is not telling the truth, but both should be reprimanded – the father for not taking his kid’s plea serious, the headmaster for not showing leniency. In an era when we have telephones everywhere, the headmaster could have called the father and summoned him, and one doesn’t have to be a genius to think of that.

Finally, let me ask you a question: How many of you have visited you school once you were through and busy in your professional lives? I am sure those who reply to it in negative outweigh those who say yes and the reason behind is that we consciously don’t want to relive the haunting memories we have left behind for good. A change must happen on parents’ and teacher’s front otherwise the youth of today will be scared of getting educated at all.

Show: Out Of Bounds

Hosts: Awab Alvi and Faisal Kapdia

Topic: NATO supply routes being opened as predicted

Description: The NATO supply routes have been opened as people had predicted-  after Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani’s statements. Awab and Faisal discuss why it was bound to happen.

Also, Faisal raises an important question over the clean up of terrorists in the northern areas of Pakistan. How is it that the Pakistan Army plus the US Military hasn’t been able to wipe out the terrorists yet? Combined together, the two forces could’ve taken them down easily, but they haven’t been able to. Why?

Language: Urdu and English

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