CPL (Cricket premier league )

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Twitter Alert: Playful taunts for Prince William, Kate Middleton

Local Twitterati took playful jabs at the lavish ceremony as the event played out. PHOTO: REUTERS

The fairytale wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton captured the imagination of the world and Pakistan alike. However, local Twitterati took playful jabs at the lavish ceremony as the event played out.

Commentary on Middleton’s dress, comparisons between English weddings and local weddings and complaints about lengthy hymns and ceremonial procedure were abound.

Marvi disappoints admirers

Marvi Memon came into politics under the patriarchal wings of Musharraf, but his fall has not aborted her growth. PHOTO: FILE

Most commentators do not take women parliamentarians seriously, especially those nominated to seats reserved for them in various legislative houses. It is widely believed that, spared the heat and dust of a directly contested election, these ‘token representatives’ remain clueless of ‘ground realities.’

However, since the year 2002 we have witnessed many of our women parliamentarians demolishing this dismissive perception with sweating homework and courageous association with human rights related issues.

Marvi Memon is an iconic example of this category. True, she came into politics under the patriarchal wings of military dictator Pervez Musharraf, but his fall has not aborted her growth.

During the elections for a newly formed Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly in early 2010, she savoured an intensive exposure to the rough and tumble of electoral battles. She also took lead in owning and promoting the cause of flood victims, and is always found amongst the front ranks of activists struggling for the marginalised in the feudal-dominated pockets of Sindh.

Speaking on point of order during Tuesday’s sitting, however, she left many of her admirers disappointed.

The sitting was reserved for individual initiatives for legislation. However, most of our representatives preferred wasting the day talking about ‘this or that’ issue of their constituency through the desultory raising of points of order.

Ms Memon availed the same opportunity and tried to agitate over the blockade of roads leading to Parachinar, which could have been passable – if she had finished there.

Unfortunately, a low level delegation from the US State of Georgia was present in the Speaker’s gallery and instead of welcoming the guests with the usual sweet talk, Memon decided to take them on with a vengeance.

Being well-educated, she did not need to be taught to fathom the fact that the ‘provincial level’ guests in the gallery have nothing to do with defence-related decisions made in Washington. Yet, she wailed over the “violation of our sovereignty” via drone attacks and finished her delirious diatribe with a comment that almost suggested that the Georgian legislators were not welcome in this country.

And all this while, she forgot to her convenience that only a while back she was moaning over the blockade of all roads to Parachinar. Obviously, the Americans have not blocked the route. Pakistanis cannot simply go there because some of our “strategic assets” from Afghanistan are obsessed with converting the area into another operational base for waging Jihad.

Sadly, drones are striking places that had already been denied to our state and people by the same assets.

Honing a would-be-populist in her, Ms Memon should perhaps not care for the fine and delicate details connected to a crowd swaying issue. One would still be willing to believe that she made the rude remarks in a ‘high’ state of mind that she must have been savouring since addressing the drone-preventing dharna that Imran Khan staged in Peshawar during the weekend.

Notwithstanding the venomous remarks and posturing of Ms Memon against the government and its friends in Washington, journalists and legislators, huddled in parliamentary lobbies and ministerial chambers, kept discussing the pros and cons of an ‘almost done deal’ between the PPP and the PML-Q.

Most keenly discussed was a newspaper report that had claimed that none other than the younger brother of Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, Wajahat, would end up in the Governor House of Lahore after the maturing of the said deal. Despite combing various sources, no confirmation was received regarding this piece of information.

However, a reliable source told me that a minister considered “too close to President Zardari” these days had ‘planted’ this news to upset “Kaira-types of dropped ministers”, reportedly eyeing for the interior ministry in their next turn to the cabinet.

The source also did not hesitate to share that ‘someone big’ from PML-Q seems ready for taking over the ministry of defence. The late Rao Sikandar Iqbal had asked for the same ministry from his hostel-friend, Musharraf, for leading a group of turncoats from the PPP for supporting the election of Jamali as the Prime Minister in 2002. With the additional title of a ‘senior minister’, he was given the requested portfolio, which he held on to until the completion of the term of Shaukat Aziz’s government.

The PIA board, I was told, is to begin meeting in Islamabad from April 27. For the first time, the national flag carrier is expected to announce ‘profits’ during the scheduled meeting. “At the end of which”, my source insisted, “Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar will submit his resignation from the ministry of defence to President Zardari, telling him that ‘I have achieved the task of turning around PIA’.”

Don’t get me wrong, though. I am not saying that Chaudhry Mukhtar will quit the cabinet. No, no. He will just ‘vacate’ the ministry of defence for someone else, if my source proves to be right in the end.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 27^th, 2011.

Sialkot: Eight bookies arrested for threatening Zulqarnain

Sialkot: Eight bookies arrested for threatening Zulqarnain 
The bookies also threatened the police and said that they have contacts in very high places.


The police arrested the cricket bookies from the Sambrial area and recovered 250 mobile phones along with weapons. According to the police, the eight cricket bookies belong to the group, who are accused of threatening Pakistani cricketer Zulqarnain Haider.

Superintendent Police investigation, Nasir Qureshi told Dunya News that during interrogation, the bookies also threatened the police and said that they have contacts in very high places.

According to the police, international calls were being made from the telephones that were being used by the bookies. The police said that the interrogation is still under way in which some serious disclosures are expected to be made.

http://www.dunyanews.tv/index.php?ke...CNOaWQ9MjQ4NTc=

Famous one minute debate of Turkish Prime Minister Vs Israel

Fire Works in Desert (Cholistan)

Moin Akhtar's death is a great loss to Pakistan

Nawaz sharif character exposed

Welcome to the Hotel Mohenjodaro

“No Muslim can even conceive killing religious leaders or bombing mosques,” was said by rightwing writers and critics when one of the Urdu literature’s finest storywriter Ghulam Abbas wrote “Dhanak” in the mid 1960s, and read it at a meeting of Halqae Arbabe Zauq in Lahore.

The picture of Pakistan created in Abbas’ story was considered far-fetched and unimaginable at that time. It was said that the story was an insult to people’s religious beliefs and Abbas had to be escorted out of the Young Men’s Christian Association  (YMCA) where he read that story.

The years have passed, the grim prediction has come true, and the story that was not included in any of Abbas’ collection has now been adapted into a mesmerising play by Shahid Nadeem.

Hotel Mohenjodaro, Ajoka’s play based on “Dhanak”, was staged before packed audiences at Alhamra Art Council in Lahore on April 19. The story of the play is about Pakistan being taken over and run by mullahs, who have come into power and have changed the fabric of the society. Music, entertainment, the English language, modern dresses and many other things are banned by them in the name of Islam.

The songs featured in the play, like “Band Karo Sab Band Karo”, “Hum Rokain Gay”, “Janat Kay Mazay Hum Lootain Gay” and “Marna Halal Hai, Jena Haram Hai”, aptly depict the way thesemullahs govern the country. Though it was written decades ago, the story is quite relevant today. Watching the play, one can’t but help think about the public lynchings and executions in Swat and the suicide bombings across the country. The play shows how themullahs prepare a force of young people in madrassas (religious schools) and use them to take over the country.

An ameer (head of the state) is chosen without elections and he then nominates all other officials. Things go on the same track till themullahs themselves differ on which sect of Islam should be followed by the state. Thus start the target killings of various religious leaders, followed by anarchy in the country. The play concludes with the sounds of war planes, suggesting an attack from another country.

Shahid Nadeem, who has adapted the story into a play said: “The story seems to be so close to the present day’s ugly reality that it is hard to believe that a writer could have foretold it with such uncanny accuracy. It seems to be an account of a television reporter from one of the troubled tribal areas or from the scene of a devastating suicide bombing.”

“Unfortunately and tragically, the intellectuals and analysts are in the same state of absolute denial, not much different from the conservative writers and their cohorts in the 1960s. They still want us to believe that society is not facing any serious threat. They still announce that ‘No Muslim can kill his brethren or bomb mosques’ even if the killers and bombers are trained in the madrassas next door. Well, like the concluding scene of the story, the sounds of the war planes in our skies can be clearly heard and they are not friendly planes.”

Madeeha Gauhar, artistic director of Ajoka, said: “We have been ending this play on different scenes. When the  Marriot blast happened in Islamabad, we ended it on that scene. Then we ended it on the blast at the procession of Ashura in Karachi, and then we ended it on the suicide blast at the shrine of Data Ganj Bakhsh in Lahore. There is no ending to it. We all hope that we manage to change the ending of this play.”

The cast of the play included Furqan Majeed, Usman Zia, Asif Hussain, Imranul Haq and Sarfaraz Ansari, who played the role of the ameer exceptionally well.

Your Protection Without Bodyguard

Surah Faatiha protects one from the anger of Allah

Surah Yaseen protects one from the thirst of the Day of Judgment

Suratul Waaqiah protects one from poverty and starvation

Surah Mulk protects one from the punishment of the grave
Surah Kauthar  Surah protects one from the enmity of the enemy Kaafiroon protects one from kufr at the time of death
Surah Ikhlaas protects one from hypocrisy
Surah Falaq protects one from calamities
Surah Naas protects one from evil thoughts
Should someone become aware of the above from your message and read any of these Surahs, you will also receive the Sawaab for passing on the knowledge. So keep forwarding.....

Pakistan cricketers get PIA Frequent Flyer Diamond Cards

 A reception was hosted in honour of the Pakistan cricket team, who participated in the World Cup, by the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) here the other day. Speaking on the occasion, PIA managing director Nadeem Khan Yousufzai said the PIA had always supported sports in Pakistan and would continue to play its role for the promotion of sports in Pakistan. He appreciated the performance of the Pakistan cricket team for reaching the World Cup semifinal. “It was the collective effort that Pakistan reached the semifinals in the World Cup 2011,” he added. He also commended the bowling performance of skipper Shahid Afridi. The team members were awarded PIA Frequent Flyer Diamond Cards with 20,000 air miles as a token of appreciation by the PIA managing director.

39 Pakistani prisoners come back home

Indian police personnel escort Mohammad Shokat before crossing over to Pakistan.

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:: We The Pakistanis :::39 Pakistani prisoners come back home:::
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 Released Pakistani prisoners Imran Khan (L), Mohammad Akram (C) Mohammad Toker (R) wave as they reach the Wagah Border Post.

 Ashiya (L) and Rajya (R) gesture before leaving India.

 Mohammad Toker leaves the border of India

Mohammad Rajak Mugal (C) was sent back.

PM announces Rs 1m each for Pak cricketers

ISLAMABAD: Prime minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has announced a cash award of rupees one million for each player of the national team for displaying good performance in the World Cup 2011 here on Monday.

He announced this at a reception he hosted in the honour of the Pakistan team, the World Cup semi-finalists.

Speaking on this occasion, the prime minister said that the team reached the semi-final this time and Insha Allah it will play the final in the next World Cup.

He also announced a cash prize of Rs0.5 million each for the officials of the team.

It may be recalled that prior to the prime minister’s reception, chief ministers of Punjab and Sindh, Mian Shahbaz Sharif and Syed Qaim Ali Shah, respectively, had also hosted separate receptions in which they announced cash prizes for the players of the team.

History of Cricket Bat!

Why Aleem Dar doesn't use 'Shahadat' finger when giving out.

Mein to dekhon ga an awesome song by strings

Azizi doing 37 second parody of Politicians

Pakistan is not responsible for the terrorism in India:Salman Khan

Zulfiqar Ali Bhutoo best speech at securtiy council

Aleem Dar awarded gold crown by Imran Khan!

The squad for the tour of West Indies has finally been announced

The squad for the tour of West Indies has finally been announced, four players of the World CUp squad have been excluded from the side, they include Younis Khan, Abdul Razzaq, Kamran Akmal and Umar Gul. Some new faces are introduced for this tour including the young allrounder Hammad Azam, Aizaz Cheema, Usman Salahuddin, Junaid Khan a

nd the new Wicket Keeper Muhammad Salman. So the squad is as follows,
Shahid Afridi (capt), Mohammad Hafeez, Ahmed Shehzad, Taufeeq Umar, Usman Salahuddin, Misbah-ul-Haq, Asad Shafiq, Umar Akmal, Abdur Rehman, Saeed Ajmal, Tanvir Ahmed, Wahab Riaz, Junaid Khan, Hammad Azam, Aizaz Cheema and Mohammad Salman (wk) 

Reserves: Rameez Raja (jnr), Sadaf Hussain, Asif Zakir, Sohail Khan, Zulifqar Babar {M.A}

Daewoo is not safe to travel any more!

Letter to the editor

Armed robbery aboard a Popular Bus Service

Dear Sir,

My intent in writing this letter is to bring to light an unfortunate incident that befell me on April 3, 2011. On my commute from Multan to Lahore (8:00 pm -1:15 am schedule service) via Daewoo bus, an armed highway robbery took place at 12:15 am near Pattoki about 1 hour short of its destination. Interestingly the robbers were none other than some passengers travelling with us from Multan. The four men and a women held the bus hostage at gun point, overpowered the guard and the driver, fired in the closed bus to intimidate and create panic, before finally driving the bus off-road to a secluded spot. There they took good 1 hour to comb the bus clean of all valuables with us and from the luggage. They then left conveniently in a getaway vehicle that was already waiting for them.

The fact that this happened just after the Pattoki toll plaza in front of the Sugar Mill – an area which is well-lit – and that the weapons were smuggled on-board by the woman in ‘abaya’ (veil), is deplorable. While no loss of life was incurred, it still speaks of the glaring lapse in the security of a very populous mode of transport.

Surprisingly when I tried to report the incident to the media, I was turned down on various flimsy grounds. One reputable channel told me that due its locality the incident was beyond its purview; one already knew about it but did not think it news worthy; while one had to seek clearance from its marketing department lest Daewoo be one of their valuable clients.

Needless to say, I have these questions for the concerned authorities:

· Why does an organization, that prides itself on its safety, not establish the veracity of the passengers before boarding? To my knowledge, all five miscreants were booked under ‘chance’.

· Why are the women passengers allowed on-board without proper search?

· What are my consumer rights as a passenger, when the loss to property is a direct result of the company’s negligence (a security lapse as stated above)?

· Why is Daewoo not put through the proper motorway police’s security protocols adhered to by most transporters?

· Why such nefarious incidents are downplayed in the media (especially TV) thus denying much needed attention to such irksome robberies?

We need to create awareness about them so that the company feels its responsibility towards passenger safety and corrective measures are put in place. The passengers will consequently be more inclined to cooperative with security personnel as well, for their own good.

Shauzab – a misfortunate passenger

Javaid Miandad to train Pakistani batsmen Again:ESPN

Javed Miandad is gain expected to work with the Pakistan team on their batting skills, after havingearlier helped them prepare for the tour of New Zealand and the World Cup. Shahid Afridi and PCB chairman Ijaz Butt have approached Miandad with a request to help a batting line-up that were largely inconsistent in the World Cup, and he has expressed his willingness to do so.

"We are trying to persuade Miandad to help the batsmen," Afridi said, according to AFP. "We realise there are batting problems so we have told Miandad that the country needs him, so hopefully he will accept that role."

Miandad responded by saying that he was always ready to assist the players whenever the need arose. "I thank PCB chairman and Afridi for calling me and requesting help," Miandad told a private television channel.

Miandad, the PCB director-general, has coached Pakistan three times in the past, each association ending in acrimonious circumstances. He was involved in a war of words last year with Ijaz Butt relating to the salary he drew as director-general. Though he worked with the side before the tour of New Zealand he declined to travel with the team, saying that he had full confidence in the abilities of coach Waqar Younis.

Pakistan's batsmen mostly struggled in the World Cup, failing to chase stiff targets against New Zealand and India, and wobbling in their chase of 177 against Australia before prevailing by four wickets. No Pakistan batsman was among the top-20 run-getters in the World Cup, and their strong bowling attack was largely responsible for their run to the semi-final.

Pakistan are to tour West Indies to play a Twenty20 international, five one-dayers and two Tests later this month.

Indians got Fake trophy says Indian media!

It was a moment cherished by a billion Indians on Saturday. The moment India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni lifted the glittering ICC World Cup, ending a 28-year drought of World one-day championship wins for a cricket mad nation. But that moment may be irreparably tarnished, not just for Team India, but all Indian fans.

Because the trophy that captain Dhoni and his teammates so passionately kissed, hugged and adored - and millions of fans worldwide cheered - was a fake.

A mere replica, not the original. This has never happened in the 36-year history of the cricket World Cup.

Did the Indian players know that the cup that Sharad Pawar, president of the International Cricket Council (ICC) and India's agriculture minister, presented to them, the gold-and-silver trophy that President Pratibha Patil lovingly touched at a reception on Sunday, was not the real one?

Interestingly, a day before the final, Dhoni and his Sri Lankan counterpart Kumar Sangakkara had customarily posed with the same replica. And whether their teammates were aware of that? Chances are they were not.

The real trophy, valued at about $130,000 in money terms, but priceless for any cricket lover, was not at the Wankhede stadium, as the world had been led to believe.

It was rotting at a secure government godown, having been seized by the Mumbai Customs on its arrival from Colombo after the Sri Lanka-New Zealand semifinals on March 29.

The reason: The trophy, according to India's Byzantine customs rules, was not eligible for exemption from import duty! And a combination of bumbling babudom, and the ICC's bungling, ensured that it stayed under lock and key at the airport. Now, it will be flying back to the International Cricket Council's (ICC) Dubai headquarters on Monday - without having once being actually touched by the team which had fought so hard to win it.

A top official of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and an ICC official confirmed that the trophy was going back to the ICC headquarters. "The trophy is being taken back to Dubai," said Suru Naik, World Cup tournament director (India). An ICC official confirmed: "The trophy is returning to Dubai on Monday."

The ICC, meanwhile, is getting in a tangle of mis-statements as it tries to desperately cover up its bungling. The ICC spokesperson insisted that the real trophy is never presented to the winning team, and that only the replica is presented to the winners.

But photographs of Australia captains Steve Waugh (1999) and Ricky Ponting (2003, 2007) receiving the original trophy, which was instituted in 1999, prove otherwise.

The base of the original trophy has names of all the winners since 1975 engraved on it while the one presented to Dhoni at the Wankhede Stadium had a blank black base.

A customs official at Mumbai's Chhatrapati International Airport confirmed the shocking development, and added a fresh twist to the sorry tale. "The ICC has been insisting that the trophy which came on the flight from Colombo (after the Sri Lanka-New Zealand semi-finals on March 29) is a replica of the original World Cup trophy that is already at the Wankhede Stadium," he said on Sunday.

So, if the original trophy was indeed at the Wankhede Stadium, then why were ICC officials desperate to have the 'replica' released from the customs. What would they have done with it by taking it inside the city? And if the real trophy was at the Wankhede, why wasn't it presented to Dhoni? These questions remain unanswered.

"ICC officials told us that that this trophy has no commercial value as it is used for promotions only. However, when examined by a valuer, the trophy was estimated to be worth Rs 60 lakh or so, made of pure silver and gold. The payable customs duty is about Rs15 lakh. If it is a replica, then does it have to be exactly of the same value as the supposed trophy?

Moreover, the ICC letter that the official was carrying said that it was the World Cup trophy. Nowhere did the letter say that it was a replica and it should be let out," the official said.

Interestingly, the department of revenue of the finance ministry had issued, "in the public interest", a notification (No. 7/2011-Customs) on February 9, 2011, to allow certain items to be imported. It listed five broad categories with specific conditions, but there is no mention of the 'World Cup trophy' in the list. It includes "sport equipments; medical instruments; photographic and audio-visual equipment and supplies; broadcast equipment and supplies; computer and other office equipment".

While BCCI and ICC officials are trying to play down the issue, government officials blame the BCCI for all the confusion. "It is clearly a lapse on the part of the ICC or BCCI. They should have added the words 'World Cup trophy' while applying to the government for customs exemption," a senior tax official said. "Moreover," he added, "why couldn't ICC and BCCI, which are extremely rich, pay the customs duty? The duty would be peanuts for them."

The Prudential Cup was the trophy that was presented in the first editions, from 1975 to 1983, when the Kapil Dev-led Indian team won it.

In 1987, it was called the Reliance Cup after the sponsors, as the tournament moved out of Britain for the first time .

In 1992, a crystal trophy was presented to Pakistan captain Imran Khan. In 1996, it became the Wills Trophy and in 1999, the ICC instituted a permanent trophy