The United Nations says more than 9,000 civilians have been killed so far in the uprising while no exact numbers are available on abductions, injured and political prisoners. Human rights activists working in the volatile country believe that thousands of pro-democracy people are slammed into the prisons just for raising voice against the dictator. Through different tactics, the dissidents are being forced to revoke their demonstrations against the autocratic rule.

It won’t be wrong to say that Assad has proven to be one of the smartest and the most stubborn autocrats in the Arab world. He continues to be in the power despite all odds. The despot has also vociferously set the international pressure aside, stating the world powers were trying to intervene in internal affairs of the country. He believes the western and even some Arab countries are helping rebels to create anarchy in the country for their own vested interests.

Even, he has labeled the opposition members as ‘agents of the foreign powers.’ Ironically, leaders of the same opposition complain apathy of the international community towards sufferings of Syrians.

After being inspired by successful uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, tens of thousands of Syrians also took to the streets in March last year demanding civil liberties and human rights for them. The United States, the so-called champion of democracy and human rights, also announced to support the protestors in bringing down the dictator but have faced tough resistance from Assad administration.

On the other hand, the autocrat continued to muster public support in his favour besides solidifying relations with two important veto-wielding nations – Russia and China. At home, Assad tried to nullify effect of protests of the opposition by arranging massive rallies of his supporters in his favour and indeed, succeeded a bit in this tactics. He also unleashed the security forces against the opposition to staunch the protests against his rule. After a year-long repression, the autocrat has succeeded to significantly tone down protests of the opposition.

To counter Assad’s strategy, the United States did try to strengthen the Syrian National Council against the autocrat but the ragtag opposition has yet to gather all factions of dissidents under one flag. The US also failed to woo maximum defections from the security forces as it did in Libya to crumble the dictator. Alawites, the ruling tribe of the country, has proved to be the staunchest supporter of Assad while Free Syrian Army has virtually reduced to an outfit of just a few low-ranking army deserters.

The international community especially the US had to bear another shock in the first week of February this year when Russia and China vetoed a draft resolution against the despot tabled by Morocco in the UN Security Council. However, all the other 13 members voted in favor of the resolution. Both the countries did not want the US and its NATO allies to enter the country under the garb of security council sanction and commit gross human rights violations in the name of rescuing people as they did in Libya in October last year.

After being defeated on that front, Kofi Annan was appointed as UN-Arab League special emissary to Syria in last week of February to broker a peace deal with the autocrat. Assad has apparently outsmarted Annan as well by accepting his six-point peace plan. The peace agreement was to be implemented by April 10 while clashes between the security forces and rebels still continue in different parts of the country. The dictator has almost justified his operation against rebels to the world powers, saying “they are defying the peace pact.”

Adding insult to injury, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton also failed in garnering support of allies on Syria in a recent meeting of NATO ministers at Brussels. The only assurance she could get was, “We will continue to increase pressure on Assad.”

For the time being, Assad who succeeded his father Hafez al-Assad in 2000, has survived the uprising by outwitting his rivals both at home and abroad. Indeed, low-intensity conflict will continue to simmer in the volatile country but perhaps it may take years to topple the regime.

Unlike Google’s Play Store and Apple’s App Store, BlackBerry App World is only available in selected countries and the service being introduced here will certainly prove to be a huge boost for our telecom sector.

CEO Mr. Babar Khan, EMS was quoted as follows:

“We are very excited to be a part of the App World launch in Pakistan. The BlackBerry App World storefront is a wireless application store that is available on BlackBerry® smartphones. It is designed to allow BlackBerry smartphone users with an environment to browse, download, and update third-party applications, and purchase applications using valid PayPal® accounts and credit cards. BlackBerry smartphone users can use the BlackBerry App World storefront to rate and share applications with other BlackBerry smartphone users.”

Although the BlackBerry App World is not as popular as its competitors the service is certainly no slouch with users downloading more than 6 million apps per day from the store’s extensive 70,000 app catalog.

BlackBerry App World with the addition of Pakistan is now available in over 130 countries worldwide in over 14 languages and 26 different currencies. The service was launched back in April 2009 in the UK, United States and RIM’s home country of Canada.

BlackBerry App World also supports telecom billing so you can buy applications and pay for them in your monthly bill, the service went live in August of 2010. We’re not sure if Telecom billing is available in Pakistan or which carriers support it but if it is I’m betting we’ll get to know soon.

So guys tell us, will you be using the service on your BlackBerry?

If numbers are anything to go by, we see that more than 30-odd civilians have been killed so far against five gangsters and seven police officials. Unfortunately, the numbers are bound to mount in the coming days if the situation does not improve. The operation has been going on in the area since April 2. The statistics show that elimination of each gangster costs lives of around six civilians besides security personnel. It is tragic and appalling. Residents of the violence-wracked locality have been shifting to safer places to avert attacks. They are also faced with severe food shortage and continuous failure of electricity and gas supply.

Who are these gangsters and criminals? The locality is considered to be bastion of Pakistan People’s Party and criminals against whom the targeted operation is being carried out were once considered beloved of the PPP top leadership. The PPP top leaders have not only been patronizing alleged goons like Uzair Jan Baloch but also declared them as heroes and champion of peace. Baloch was chief of defunct Peoples Aman Committee, an armed wing of the PPP Karachi chapter. Now, leadership of the PPP might have realized the fact that these people are actually bringing a bad name to the party.

Uzair Bloch and his other notorious accomplices including Habib Jan Baloch and Zafar Baloch have quit the PPP in reaction to the operation against them. Having lived in Karachi for more than seven years, I personally know all these are infamous drug-pushers, extortionists and arms dealers. They have set up their own militias in the locality and are involved in smuggling different contrabands from Balochistan and Iran as well.

Why are they so powerful? The goons have had their contacts in the corridors of power and they also grease palms of the law-enforcement agencies to keep their illegal activities flourishing. Former Sindh Home Minister Zulfiqar Mirza has never hide his support to the alleged criminals and even declared them an ‘asset’ for the PPP. With the blessing of lawmakers like Mirza, the gangsters have got rockets, hand grenades and other sophisticated weapons which they have been using against the law-enforcers.

However, still the elusive peace can be restored in the volatile locality if all the stakeholders – PPP, MQM, ANP and JI – agree to one point agenda of deweaponising the city and abolish their armed wings. It appears a gigantic task but adopting the de-weaponisation bill (MQM submitted the bill with National Assembly in April last year) into proper legislation can do a significant help of law enforcers in bringing peace and stability to the economic hub of the country.

At the moment, the police are equipped with obsolete weapons while the criminals have got all the sophisticated weaponry of the modern times. The city police should be better equipped with night goggles, laser rifles, bullet proof vests and binoculars; so that they could target the criminals with precision. Trained snipers are also badly needed in the force as they can eliminate one criminal with one bullet. This way, we can also avoid killings of civilians in the crossfire.

The police force should also be depoliticized; so that it can take on criminals without any fear or favour. From Lyari operation, we know the police are targeting one group of gangsters with the help of another one. People ask why the police are not taking on Arshad Pappu group – another infamous gang of Lyari. One thing is for sure, criminals cannot be wiped out solely through operations as we all know violence further breeds violence. They must be offered one time amnesty to revoke their illegal activities. And also the locality has become a breeding ground of criminals; the government should focus on improving socio-economic condition of the blighted residents.

These are the pre-requisites for establishing permanent peace not only in Lyari but also in the whole Karachi. However, irony of the situation is that a foreign excursion is being planned for the prime minister to boost his credibility after being convicted by the Supreme Court. Lyari bleeds but the government has perhaps got some other important matters of ‘national interest’ to deal first.

“For reasons to be recorded later, the prime minister is found guilty of contempt for willfully flouting the direction of the Supreme Court,” said Justice Nasir-ul-Mulk while reading the verdict. The judge also said Gilani’s offence “tends to bring this court and the judiciary of the country into ridicule.” Indeed, it is shameful for an elected prime minister of the country and thought provoking for the whole nation. What would be fate of the nation where chief executive has become a proclaimed law breaker?

I am not a constitutional expert and don’t know what options are still left with Gilani to be used to save his premiership. But, if he has got even a shred of self respect, he should step down from his position. Gilani should manifest his respect to the verdict and superior judiciary rather hiding behind the cabinet and coalition partners. He is convicted by apex court of the country, though was awarded a token punishment.

Gilani had faced a maximum sentence of six months in jail in the case but the court awarded him only symbolic detention until ‘the rising of the court.’ It is one of the best verdicts of the apex court as the judges have exercised discretion and judgment while convicting the prime minister. We should also give credit to Gilani for appearing before the court in person thrice and showing patience despite the prolonged court proceedings. Now, he must move one step forward and gracefully resign from his position.

The prime minister should not listen to hawks like Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira and Attorney General of Pakistan Irfan Qadir who is better known as a PPP jiyala (diehard activist).  Shortly after the verdict, Kaira responded to Nawaz Sharif’s demand of resignation of the prime minister as, ‘pot is calling the kettle black.’ Kaira may be right in his assertions but he should also keep in mind that two wrongs don’t make right. Instead of criticizing others deeds, Kaira should advise Gilani to set an example by honorably leaving the premiership.

On the other hand, we can only pray for Irfan Qadir who has termed the court verdict absolutely illegal and urged the government to flout the judgment. “This order is to be ignored.” What a comment by the attorney general. Mr Qadir, it would have been better had you reserved your valuable observation.

To avoid further crisis and instability, the PPP-led coalition government should elect another leader of the house and focus a little on improving governance. So far, they have been successful in averting the looming military coup in January this year and have also smartly outsmarted other crises like memogate. This is their last year in the government; so at the very least, they should do something viable to bring a positive change in marginalized segment of the society.

Public-oriented policies in the sectors of education and health are needed. It would be wonderful if the hyperactive coalition partners pay a little heed to manage monster of the ever-rising unemployment. The coalition partners should now focus on the upcoming budget and utilize all their energies to make it public friendly, in real terms.

Goodbye, Mr Gilani and congratulations for being the longest-serving elected prime minister of Pakistan. As they have majority in the parliament, PPP-led coalition partners should elect another leader of the house to end the crisis instead of indulging in allegations and counter allegations.

P.S: Now, the apex court should also direct its attention to cases of ordinary people. The honourable judges can also make headlines and win respect of the masses by awarding justice to those who are nobodies in this country. We hope the judges will hear cases of Khuda Bux and Bakho (common people) with the same zeal to uphold rule of law as they exhibited in case of all-powerful prime minister.

If you’re a g

A massive explosion blew the plane up, breaking it into pieces and scattering it around the clearing in a small village amid a cluster of homes. Rescue teams scampered to the scene, but, they found a scene of human shambles and pieces of a once-full plane strewn about the area.

This is a not the first disaster of its kind in Pakistan, but it happened a bit too soon. About two years ago AirBlue’s – another private Airline – jet-engine Aircraft Airbus 321 crashed in the hills; every single soul on-board perished. Once again; weather was to blame.

It is true; in both cases the Aircrafts crashed in poor weather conditions. But what could the ATC (Air Traffic control) services, and Metrological department could have done to avert this disaster? All aircrafts in flight remain in direct, and two way contact with services stations throughout the course of their flight. These stations are built to ensure the safety of air traffic, and its orderly flow.

Metrological department undertakes the duty of informing these stations about the changes in weather conditions on the Aerodrome, in its vicinity, and the linking airways and routes. Henceforth, if any severe change in the atmospheric weather occurs, the pilot-in-command is informed to deviate the flight to an alternate aerodrome for the safety of passengers and crew onboard.

It is important to understand here, that a pilot-in-command cannot continue towards the intended destination unless he/she does not get the clearance to do so from the station at the aerodrome, or from the station with which he/she has established a two-way communitarian with at any time during the flight route.

Then comes in the question of Aircraft’s serviceability. Unbeknownst to many, an aircraft cannot be declared safe for flight unless, following the strict rules of International Civil Aviation Authority, its airworthiness and maintenance certificate, and flight checks prove so, or as the rules demand.

If the aircraft was fit for flight, then how did its engine caught fire just before landing? According to witnesses on the ground, they could see one of the engines ablaze in the sky. Then there are wild speculations about the lightening that could have caused it, albeit all jet-airliners are equipped with appropriate devices to keep the aircraft safe from heavy electrical discharge.

Like last time, the board decided not to let the investigation of the air crash out in the public, but didn’t do much in terms of future disasters, as we have yet another one on our hands with weather as the scapegoat.

Who is to blame? The aviation experts blame it on the pilot-on-command who cannot proceed forward at any point during the flight unless he/she is not cleared to do so. If the faulty equipment is at fault, then why were the aircraft’s maintenance records in the flight’s favour? And did the weather become the cause for the untimely death of 127 passengers, when all this could have been avoided with the provision of current metrological reports, analysis, and charts to the ATC services?

It is truly a shame; we make dreadful mistakes, but don’t seem to learn anything from them even at the cost of innocent lives. It would be months before we see any report from the board of investigation, or any at all for that matter. But in the meantime, it is the responsibility of the federal government to overhaul the crumbling system of aviation in Pakistan to avert and avoid such disasters in the near future.

The car came to a halt in front of a small building; an enormous board hung on the roof, emblazoned with the letters, ‘ISCS’. As I was informed, this was the only mosque in Colorado Springs. ‘Islamic Society of Colorado Springs’ was my presumed abbreviation of ISCS. Feeling a twinge of exhilaration at visiting the mosque for the first time in America, I stepped out of the car. My host mom was equally overjoyed to introduce herself to the rudiments of Islamic culture and of course, test the legitimacy of my words about Islam, particularly its key characteristic of ‘purity by heart’.

The place was not swarming with people; however, a myriad of teenage girls had clustered at a distance. No wonder, I was impressed by their attire. They were wearing hijab as they very elegantly await the mosque’s door to open. This led me to contemplation. Indeed, it requires a great deal of steadiness to practice your faith in US, with innumerable distractions at hand. I gaped at my own dress: jeans, shirt and a shawl to cover my body. Unquestionably not a ‘hijab’, nonetheless, an appropriate outfit.

I, along with my host mom, joined the small gathering.

“Assalamualaikum” One of the petite girls greeted me. I was taken aback and apparently, my face betrayed the bewilderment as the girl passed aggravated looks.

“Waalaikumussalam” I responded with a smile.

Later that day, I came to know that a majority of those girls were from Pakistan and had been residing in America since past 10 years or more. As I started a conversation, I was even more captivated at the thought of upholding Islamic values in USA. A new wave of guilt coursed through me as I had been in the states since four months and yet, was already so rapt by the lifestyle. In fact, I had failed to practice Islam properly.

Anyhow, we made our way inside the building. An imperceptible aura of tranquility wafted in the room; the finely laid ground mattresses and the adorned chairs added to the beauty. Shortly, the older members, along with my host mom, headed towards another room, leaving the teenagers behind. The next thing I knew, this was so not Islam. I was grateful my host mom was not with me.

The girls put off their hijab, revealing skin-tight, cleavage-exposing shirts. While one of the teenage girls was wearing a lucid blouse, the other had worn a mini skirt, exposing her extensive, ‘shiny’ legs.  As if this was not enough of a bombshell, they started conversing with each other, passing a string of profanities, later playing ‘I am sexy and I know it’ on their iPods and belly dancing on the beat. Rage? Embarrassment? Shame? Innumerable feelings flooded my entire being and my mind, at a speed of light, began to reflect upon the disrespect towards the mosque and Islam, in general.

In the same mosque, I met a newly converted Muslim lady. She was an American and had embraced Islam two years back. Her clothing shared a similarity to mine, expect that it was accompanied by a head scarf. Not surprisingly, I felt a pang of chagrin at realizing that, in comparison to my own self, she was better informed about Islam. Not only did she possess a greater knowledge but in fact, she was not carrying a two-faced persona with regard to it. In other words, she didn’t want to act ‘Islamic’ to show the world.

This event directs me towards consideration and finally, some conclusions. Firstly, Islam is not confined to your appearance but also one’s intentions by heart. What’s the point of feigning your ‘religious side’ when inside, you are like a rotten apple? Irony! Isn’t it uproarious how a person prays five times a day, yet indulge himself in all kinds of unseemly activities? How is this not hypocrisy? What’s more, for most of us, including me, Islam is an inherent part of our lives. Only the few blessed amongst us understand the true principle and significance behind it. On the contrary, Muslims, who study and later convert to Islam, are more likely to follow its teachings. I bet more than half of our population does not even know the meaning of the word ‘Islam’. Lastly, mosques shouldn’t be built at every other place, especially if the holy purpose of Islam is not being taught. Simply ignominy!
By the way, ‘I am sexy and I know it.’ Like seriously? They were not even sexy.

 
Post by: Faryal Hasan

• Instagram is a year and six months old. Was launched in October 2010.
• This billion dollars app has only 13 employees on its payroll.
• Instagram, single handedly, made its developers, Kevin Systrom and Mark Krieger, multimillionaires. They are going to make $400 million and $100 million from the deal respectively.
• More than 1 billion photos have been uploaded on Instagram, with 5 million new photos uploaded each day.
• Systrom refused a job offer from Facebook in 2004 in order to finish his studies. (Well, this proves that you don’t have to be a college dropout like Steve Jobs and Bill Gates to develop a billion dollars app).
• Instagram now values more than The New York Times, having market capitalization of $942 million.
• Sam Hamadeh, chief executive of PrivCo, a US research company which studies privately-held businesses, claims that it (Facebook) has bought the next Facebook.
• In 2011, Apple Inc. regarded Instagram as the “App of the Year”.
• Instagram, initially an iPhone app, released its Android version on 3rd April 2012. It crossed more than one million downloads in 12 hours.
• Many analysts are stating that acquisition of Instagram is an act by Facebook to “kill competition”.

If you’re excited and amazed that how an app could make this much money, then go develop one! Maybe Facebook would buy your next application for a billion dollar!

Post by: Danial Arshad

It poured down gently, taking away quite a bit of heat. The blanket I had tossed carelessly into my embarrassingly messy cupboard some days back was dragged out.  It had gotten pretty cold. The ceiling fan was still and quiet again on my room’s white-washed roof, and the drawn red curtains flapped madly day and night. Dragging in more cold.

Even in the morning, nature continued to show its mercy with the same light winds and a constant grey shade. The people in Islamabad couldn’t see the sun; hidden safely behind the mantle of clouds. The sporadic rains seemed to stay with the winds; cool and pleasant.

People had been holed up in their homes as the heat began mounting, alerting them for the coming inevitable season that surprisingly took a respite from its duty. People holed up in their homes, prepping for summer, came outside to enjoy the weather.

Though, it was no rest for people working during office hours, the usually empty streets seemed to seethe with people. The Parks in Rawalpindi and Islamabad were crowded even at noon. The lonely and sad benches finally had some company, and so did the roses. Housewives strolled the parks, pushing strollers. Kids enjoyed the seesaws, the swings, and even the slides.

Young men played cricket the typical Pakistani way with some bricks as wickets and a tennis ball. Even young women felt thrilled, and roamed relentlessly around the shops in Sadar and Blue Area, splurging their father’s, brother’s, and even cousin’s hard earned cash on new shoes, clothes, and handbags.

People did not seem to forget the eating spots, and when the sun dipped below the horizon line in the sky, they flooded these places in numbers. Families enjoyed eating outside Rahat by perching themselves on several seats placed for their comfort. Others ate pizzas and even ice-creams to their hearts content inside their cars.

KFC was as usual filled with a youth, munching on chicken burgers; we are a chicken eating nation after all. Several people crushed towards the counters just to get their share of treats. Islamabad looked similar. And at night, under the sterling, twinkling lights at Pir-Suhawa, families enjoyed the serenity of weather.

The Weather is changing with at a very slow but deliberate pace, and the lost heat has found the twin cities again. Dark, heavy clouds have rolled out, and the sun is slowly beginning to intensity its summer glare. Even if rains have stopped, the winds are still quite soothing and calm. You can still feel like that element of sudden spring gentleness has yet to leave.

The people still enjoy themselves and hang out, but it is obvious that this spell of calm won’t last long, and the coming summer will break it.

Post by: Shagufta Shah