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General elections and Rawalpindi
The general elections are around the corner. Although an actual date for the elections has not been announced by the government, every politician is trying to complete development projects in his/her...
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Lawless lawyers:From heroes to hoodlums
The black coats have been Musharraf’s most potent opponents since his return, just as they were during his time in office. And while it is admirable that they have taken the initiative when others...
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Kalyan Das temple: An abandoned shelter for the blind
A trek through the old areas of Rawalpindi reveals many examples of ancient architecture; silent testimonies of our heritage, narrating tales of our past and stories of our land. Unfortunately, these...
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Man behind ‘Red-brick blocks’
The efforts of Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed, famous not only for his street politics and outspoken nature, but also for his generosity towards educational institutions for girls in Rawalpindi, are laudable....
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Craving GT Road dhaaba deliciousness? Try this channa daal
Whoever has travelled on the Grand Trunk (GT) road in Pakistan knows what a driver’s hotel or a manji hotel is. Four ideas are the usual elements which make up such a hotel; truck drivers, plenty of...
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Peace talks won’t work. If they kill two, we must kill four
The year was 1989, I can’t remember the month though, but it was winter. I was 13-years-old, studying in Aitchison College Lahore. My late father, a brigadier of the Pakistan army, was commanding the...
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Down memory lane: This Eid, enjoy my mother’s recipe of Mutton Dum Piyaza!
Each Eid reminds me of the happy times I spent celebrating Eid as a kid at my maternal grandparents’ house in Rawalpindi some 20 or more years ago. Funnily enough, it was the hustle and bustle the day...
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This is what ‘Pakistan’ means to me
Walking or driving around the streets of my country, I can never give words to the mix of feelings and emotions that I experience. Is it the sense of belonging, which I never feel anywhere else in the...
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Rawalpindi violence: Where is our humanity?
It has become a recurring story now. The same news stories reappear on our television screens every Muharram, be it the Ashura procession in Karachi a few years ago, to the one in Rawalpindi this year....
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Rawalpindi clashes: Is history repeating itself?
I, vividly, recall the caption of an article contributed by Professor Arnold Toynbee in early 1950’s and reproduced by the daily Pakistan Times, which was a very popular daily of the progressive group....
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Rawalpindi: Parsi places of worship… still exist!
I was talking to the 70-year-old man, trimming grass at the Parsi place of worship, when he said, “I have been working here for more than 20 years and during this time none of the elders or children...
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Support minorities and save St Joseph’s Hospice, they need our help!
I wrote an article on street beggars and how they are more greedy than needy yet we still keep stuffing their pockets by directing our charity to this flourishing business of begging. The comments,...
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How a group of dedicated friends changed the lives of 150 children
For a country with a population of 180 million, out of which 36 .7 per cent are under the age of 15, the education system of Pakistan is simply disgraceful. Although there is always a hue-and-cry about...
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Protection of Pakistan Ordinance: A legal pass to abduct, torture and kill?
“Kaleemullah, 22, was coming out of a mosque in Kallar Syedan near Rawalpindi in June last year when personnel of an intelligence agency allegedly took him away. Son of a retired Khateeb of the army,...
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Metro bus service in Rawalpindi and Islamabad: A blessing or a curse?
The Punjab cabinet approved the extension of the metro bus service to the twin cities of Rawalpindi-Islamabad in its recent meeting. When the PML-N won the elections back in May 2013, I had hoped that...
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Islamabad is the safest city in Pakistan? Not today…
I was tying my shoe laces, getting ready to go for a walk when the number of my children’s school flashed on my screen. My heart always flutters a little when I see this number on my phone and this...
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My grandmother: The unwanted martyr
Normally, when my friends would tell me how their grandparents passed away, they would speak of ill-health and chronic pain, which one would expect as consequences of old age. I would, however, always...
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The serendipitous serenity of Swat Valley
Swat was a land alien to me, until I got the chance of visiting the beautiful valley with my brother and a friend. We decided to take a bus to Mingora and then travel on our own from there. The image I...
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How we went wrong with Rawalpindi
The history of Rawalpindi is one, which is scattered across a vast area. To draw a complete picture of our history, one has to collect the scattered pieces and put them together. No doubt, it’s quite a...
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Preparing for Ramazan with potato stuffed samosas and a spoonful of green...
Like the rest of the world, few foods are associated with certain events and seasons and in Pakistan, it is no different. Like Kashmiri Chai, which is an integral part of the food menu during wedding...
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