I share this all with you people because I think it will make some difference. All of my family members were invited to a birthday party of our neighbor’s daughter who is unfortunately born with a disorder of learning things slowly. She is a beautiful little girl of around eight years who was wearing pink colored frock and sitting in the lap of his father looking like a little princess. But she was throwing things at guests, spitting at her friends’ face and crying endlessly. Her family members were doing everything to please her. They are quite well-to-do family. It was a lavish ceremony with great arrangement and number of dishes.

Moment of anguish came when my aunt asked mother of little girl that when are you sending her school. She turned and gave my aunt a baffling look and said disdainfully “School” as if something hit her on head with a lightning speed. Then she gathered herself and replied no we can feed our kid and in this condition she cannot attend any of the schools. Her ill-informed attitude made us all retreat but left me with a great pain for that little innocent girl who is bound to spend rest of her life without any proper education or schooling whereas there are schools working in our country that help such children and made them able enough to mingle with other human beings.
Similarly another family lives in our neighborhood has a son that faints once he walks few yards due to some complications after his birth. Knowledge of that mysterious malady made him despondent and his family over-secure towards him that they are not pushing him for education. He just stays at home watching movies all day long, uses internet and rests in left-over time. He has been doing his intermediate from last few years and still unable to make it. I asked him once about his studies and he said it with utter impoliteness, “hum parhte nahi hain”. He is a healthy looking young man with enough resources at his family’s disposal that can arrange some education for him right at his doorstep. Experience of these two incidents makes me tell my own story so my readers can create awareness about this issue.

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In this time of despair when enemies of my beloved country are openly wreaking havoc with the civilized way of living. Where enemies of Pakistan destroyed a Rs 800 million Grid Station and cut Natural Gas supply to whole Swat region within last 24 hours, I found some solace in this photo.

This picture gives me hope.

Hope survives. Hope must survive. Hope must never be allowed to die.

Taken on August 2, 2008 by Akram Ali in Hyderabad, it shows a lady hailing from a temporary housing raising Pakistani flag to celebrate August 14 while her children look on.

One could ask her what was she celebrating? Apparently the luxuries offered by Pakistan to the elite have passed her by BUT she seems full of hope and love for her country. Hope for a prosperous-for-all Pakistan is one thing we should never loose.

She gives me hope. Hope survives. Hope must survive. Hope must never be allowed to die.

Reference: http://www.jang.com.pk/

The 2008 edition of Pakistan’s famous Shandur Polo festival starts today. It will continue for three days. This polo tournament, organized by Gilgit and Chitral polo clubs, will be played at Shandur Pass which is considered as the the highest Polo Ground in the World.

The game of polo has been played for a long time in the world, but in Pakistan it sometimes assumes mythical importance

Pakistan’s northern areas are famous for their natural beauty. They have awe-inspiring mountains, serene lakes, roaring rivers and gigantic glaciers. But the game of polo attracts many a visitor to the region for reasons other than watching nature’s munificence.

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Reference: http://thenews.jang.com.pk/

KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said Tuesday Pakistan had suffered more than any other from terrorism and that it would fight the scourge with an “iron fist”.

“The world is facing today the menace of extremism and terrorism which has affected our socioeconomic development,” he said in a speech to a summit of the D8 group of developing countries.

“Pakistan has suffered the most due to this curse,” he said, pointing to the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto last year which was just one of many acts of violence to hit the country.

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Reference: http://news.yahoo.com/

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - The disgraced architect of Pakistan’s nuclear program said Friday that it provided centrifuges to North Korea in a 2000 shipment supervised by the army under President Pervez Musharraf.Abdul Qadeer Khan, who remains a national hero despite confessing four years ago to heading a clandestine proliferation network, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview that the uranium enrichment equipment was sent from Pakistan in a North Korean plane that was loaded under the supervision of Pakistani security officials.

His claims contradict his 2004 confession that he was solely responsible for spreading nuclear technology to Iran, North Korea and Libya — and Pakistan’s repeated denials its army or government knew about Khan’s nuclear proliferation activities.Khan said the army had “complete knowledge” of the shipment of used P-1 centrifuges to North Korea and that it must have been sent with the consent of Musharraf, the then-army chief who took power in a 1999 coup.

“It was a North Korean plane, and the army had complete knowledge about it and the equipment,” Khan said. “It must have gone with his (Musharraf’s) consent.”

Khan’s allegations, reported earlier Friday by the Japanese news agency, Kyodo, are his most controversial yet and could prove deeply embarrassing for both the army and Musharraf, a key ally in the U.S.-led war on terror.

Musharraf’s spokesman, Rashid Qureshi, rejected Khan’s claims.

“I can say with full confidence that it is all lies and false statements,” he said.

Army and Foreign Ministry spokesmen declined immediate comment.

Khan is regarded as a hero by many in Pakistan for his key role in the program that gave it the Islamic world’s first nuclear bomb in 1998, seen as a deterrent against historic archrival India.After his 2004 confession and televised statement of contrition, Khan was pardoned by Musharraf but has been kept under virtual house arrest at his spacious villa in Islamabad.Since a new civilian government took power after February elections, eclipsing Musharraf, the retired scientist has increasingly spoken out in the media.

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God, You created the night, I made the lamp
    You created the earth, I made earthen pot out of it
    It is me who created the mirror out of stone
    It is me who made elixir out of poison

Today Pakistan celebrates Allama Iqbal’s birth anniversary with the usual lip-service. The key messages of Iqbal seem to have been lost in the maze of officialdom. This is further exacerbated by the hijacking of Islam and politics by vested interests, not to mention the recent events that have shook us all. Iqbal opposed exploitation, Mullahism, emphasised the principle of movement in Islamic thought; and highlighted “Ijtehad” (re-interpretation) of Islamic teachings through a modern parliamentary framework. Alas, all of that is nearly forgotten.

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The national flag of Pakistan was designed by Syed Amir-ud-Din Kedwaii. It was adopted on August 11, 1947, three days before independence when the country was formed after the British-ruled Indian sub-continent was divided into two independent states, Pakistan and India. The Pakistan flag is based on one created in 1906; which represented the All-Indian Muslim League - a political organization established to represent the political rights of muslims in India. That flag had an entirely green base with a white crescent and star in the centre. The flag remained the same when Pakistan produced its first constitution in 1956 and officially became the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

A common name for the Pakistan flag is Sabz Hilali Parcham which is Urdu for Green Flag with the Crescent. Or Parcham-e-Sitara aw Hilal meaning The Flag of the Crescent and Star.

The national flag of Pakistan is now dark green in colour with a white bar, a white crescent in the centre and a five-pointed star. The significance of the colour and symbols used in the Pakistan Flag is as follows:

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