Archive for May, 2009
Poem: Under our National Flag
May 29th
Arms erect, legs straight, ready to attack;
Carrying tons of obligations at their backs;
To meet them all, staying devout to core;
This is our ARMY—and such are the people
Under our national flag; More >
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Loading ...Captain Bilal Zafar Shaheed
May 25th
“Think not of those who are slain in Allah’s way as dead. Nay, they live, finding their sustenance in the presence of their Lord; They rejoice in the bounty provided by Allah. And with regard to those left behind, who have not yet joined them (in their bliss), the (martyr’s) glory in the fact that on them is no fear, nor have they (cause to) grieve.”
Al-Quran (3: 169-170)
Captain Bilal Zafar, a commando of the Pakistan army SSG (the world’s best elite force), embraced martyrdom on the 17th of May, 2009 – fighting terrorists and militants in the embattled valley of Swat.
He always used to say “Bullets can’t harm me”, and thus it proved true. He was hit on the arm by a bullet but he carried on until he was hit by an RPG (Rocket propelled grenade) where he embraced martyrdom on the spot.
His last message has been circulated widely on print and electronic media. This is what he had to say:
“In the volleys of fire…in the thunder of bombs, there are a few who just do not stop…knowing that they are surrounded by death…knowing that they could leave their wives widows and children orphans…but they just keep on moving because something is pumping in their hearts…and flowing through their veins known as honour, devotion and motivation…death over surrender…that is why they say death before disgrace…Pakistan Army Zindabad”.
We Salute your courage, Sir! This sacrifice of your’s for this nation will never be forgotten. At least not by us: the people of Pakistan. Let this martyrdom also dispel the notion that the army lacks any motivation to defeat these extremist militants, it is obvious that their spirits are very high.
We stand by you! Long Live Pakistan!
Photograph courtesy: CaptainBilalShaheed.Com
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...Irony
May 25th
The pictures presented in this post are ironic to say the least. Probably the very reason why we have’nt progressed as a nation.
What you see is a small, torn, Pakistani flag presenting a painful picture to any patriotic Pakistani in Karachi. The national flag is under the flags of three different political parties.
Click on the images below for a full-size view.
Do I need to say any more?
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...Report: Humanitarian Crisis in Pakistan
May 22nd
I’ve compiled a report on the humanitarian crisis that Pakistan faces today. The report has been published at “Global Voices Online“, a community of more than 200 bloggers around the world who work together to bring you translations and reports from blogs and citizen media everywhere, with emphasis on voices that are not ordinarily heard in international mainstream media.
The report highlights how the Pakistani Blogosphere has reacted to the crisis and gives you an in-sight to cyber activism in Pakistan.
Pakistan has been hit by a severe humanitarian crisis as a result of the military onslaught against the Taliban insurgency. The valley of Swat is in Pakistan’s Malakand division, a beautiful valley often dubbed as another heaven on planet earth. It used to be a prominent tourist resort before it was struck by militancy and extremism of the local Taliban.
It is being reported that over one million (some reports even suggest that figure stands at near 2 million) people have fled their homes from various areas in the Malakand division and FATA including Buner, Dir and Swat. These “Internally Displaced People” (IDPs) are seeking refuge in other areas of Pakistan. Temporary camps have been established in the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) where registered IDPs are provided food and shelter.
The crisis is huge. The problems seem impossible to overcome. But Pakistan as a nation has always proved its resilience and unity in testing times. In this regard, a massive relief effort has been launched by many organizations and individuals. The Pakistani Blogosphere is also taking a leading role to provide relief to our Pakistani brothers and sisters in distress.
Read the Full Report at: http://globalvoicesonline.org/2009/05/21/pakistan-a-humanitarian-crisis/
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...IDP’s Calling – Anyone for Relief efforts?
May 12th
Last year, when a calamity hit Balochistan, we responded with FAST Relief. A well coordinated effort of us students at FAST Karachi. We raised quite a lot of money and made sure every penny of it was spent for the right purpose. We focused on medical aid and bought important medicine for daily use.
Now we have another humanitarian crisis knocking our door, that of the internally displaced persons (IDP’s). People who are leaving their villages and home-towns to avoid the military offiensive against Taliban militants. Are we ready to respond to this call? Will another FAST Relief rise in our absence, now that we have almost graduated?
Do we have people here to answer this call? Can we stand up, as responsible members of the society and do something again from Karachi and launch a well coordinated effort and provide some relief to the IDP’s?
Let us help the Pakistan Army restore peace to our Northern Areas. Let us stand together as a nation and prove that nobody is stronger than us.
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...Revisiting Procom.Net 2009
May 5th
Let me begin in the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Merciful. Thank You my Lord for making this possible. The 10th All Pakistan Programming, Engineering and Business Competition came to its close on May 2, 2009. The year’s biggest event at FAST Karachi truly lived up to its standards. Originally scheduled for the 30th of April and 1st of May, the event had to be postponed and transformed into a one-day affair because of the violence in Karachi. The postponement and rescheduling of the event was probably the toughest situation that I have ever encountered in my life.
Initially, we had over 200 teams registered and the total number of participants exceeded 620. These were record figures for any event in Karachi. The biggest plus was the fact that over 170 of these participants were to come from all over Pakistan (outside Karachi). Following the postponement by two days – the actual turnout was of over 140 teams, over 450 participants of which over 80 were from outside Karachi. And frankly, the turnout was unexpected. Given the situation – none of us expected such a great turnout of participants, guests, judges and visitors.
How we managed to pull it off – together – shall remain a mysterious miracle for years to come. But one thing is for sure, this year’s event is indeed being counted amoungst the best event’s ever held at FAST (Karachi). I congratulate my team for winning all the appreciation from the Chief Guest, Prof. Dr. Atta-ur-Rahman, corporate guests, visitors and our faculty. It would not have been possible without your sheer dedication.
For me, personally, had it not been Papa’s (Syed M. Faheem) and Ammi’s trust and support in me, I would never have made it where I stood a few days back. Arsalan Tariq Mir was also a great support I had. I can never thank him enough for his never ending cooperation and support. Bilal Musharraf, Maisam Raza, Saad Jamal, Saad Najeeb, Umair and Humayoon were there for me throughout the 4 years of journey till I became President of this mega-event. I will have to thank my little brother, Maisum, for bearing with me – spending sleepless nights just because I had to stay awake for Procom.Net.
It would not have been possible without Mr. Pervez Mohsin and Prof. Zafar Nasir’s unconditional support and trust in me and my team. I believe one of the reason’s behind our success lies in the fact that they did not interfere in our decision making – rather stood by us against people who tried to.
Both my Vice-Presidents, Naveed and Umair deserve all the credit for putting in their maximum. We really gelled together as a team when it was required. Atif Khan’s cooperation is also worth applause. He was part of all critical decisions that we took. We stood firm and pushed ahead when problems refused to let us move forward.
Adnan M. Yousuf (aka TipTop) was a great motivator since the very beginning. Moosa, Hasan, Saleh, Musab, Suhaib Zia, Zain Alvi, Fakhar-ul-Hasan, Abdullah, Waqar, Shoaib Ahsan, Asim Fayyaz, Hassan Yousuf. Thank you all for making it a success.
Assad Ullah kept pushing me when I thought of backing out of the race to become President. His efforts for the Design team can not be under-estimated. He was sick yet he made sure we had all the panaflex banners ready just before it was too late. We missed you at the event Assad.
And of course when it comes to the Juniors – Wahib Saif, Murtaza Munawwer Fazal, Hani Haider, Shahrukh, Ravendar, Ali Ikram, Asif, Ali Raza, Waqas Adnan, Amir Khan, Faizan Mehboob, Mohammad Ali, Fahad, Syed Hassan.. you guys rocked! Forgive me if I’ve missed out any names here, but you guys were brilliant when it mattered!
Hats to Ali Abbas Rizvi, Usman Tariq, Ali Ahmed Zaidi and Sami Moiz for Guest and Participant relations work. I am especially thankful to the little girls, Zahra Bhojani and Saima Karim for thier untiring efforts. A special word of thanks to Anum Fatima Sayani – the little girl working on a very important task these days =D
I have tried to mention almost everyoneI could remember. Forgive me again if I have missed out on any name. It was a total team effort and like I mentioned in my speech, I am proud of you ALL.
And as for motivation, here is what Mr. Faizuddin Alim (Snr. Business Development Executive at TPS) has to say about our event:
Hats off to all you! For making my journey special! For making this success possible!
Best Regards
Syed Ammar Faheem
President
Procom.Net 2009
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