Deadly Earthquake to donate:

All Mobilink and Ufone users - SMS the word Donate to 436. Rs.3 will be deducted from your balance and given towards the relief fund.

Donations can be deposited in any branch of UBL in Pakistan giving following details.
Account Title MKRF - Pakistan Earthquake Relief Fund
Bank Name United Bank Limited
Account No. 0102598-5
Branch Code 1234
Branch Name Al-Rehman Branch
Branch Address I. I. Chundrigar Road, Karachi , Pakistan
For international telegraphic transfer from any bank abroad also indicate
Swift Code U N I L P K KA

To contribute via PayPal - click here: Help Pakistan

Contact the following organizations:

Edhi Foundation
Karachi - 021-2201261
Lahore - 042 - 5414211
Islamabad - 051 - 2827844
Multan - 061 - 4583906 / 4549938
Quetta - 081 - 2830832 / 2830861

Fatamid Foundation
Dr. Sagher - 021-2225285 / 0300 - 9210647

Ansar Burney Welfare Trust
Sarim Burney - 0300 - 8243459 / 0301 - 8243459

Rotaract Club 3270
Lahore:
Natash Ali Mian - 0300 - 9464209
Farooq Abdul Qadir - 0333 - 4227114

Karachi: Ali Hafeez - 0333 - 2298048

National Academy of Youth Trust
Mrs. Samina - 0333 - 3114726

Khidmat - e - Khalq Foundation
Karachi - 021 - 6328464

Al Khidmat Foundation
Lahore - 042 - 5433038
Islamabad - 051 - 2277343 / 2877933

Unicef - http://www.supportunicef.org/site/pp.asp?c=iuI1LdP0G&b=45523

International Red Cross - http://www.icrc.org/Web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/html/South%20Asia-news-091005%21OpenDocument

Mensa Pakistan Disaster Relief Fund - http://karachi.metblogs.com/archives/2005/10/mensa_pakistan.phtml#more

SA Tribune: Sending donations if you live abroad - http://www.satribune.com/archives/200510/P1_RELIEF_AD.htm

Lahore University of Management Sciences` Charity Drive - http://lahore.metblogs.com/archives/2005/10/relief_drive.phtml

The Karachi Metblog [http://karachi.metblogs.com] and Lahore Metblog [http://lahore.metblogs.com] are posting news updates and details of charity drives constantly.

The Vicious Cycle We have become apathetic to everything.

Graffiti Christ II: The Resurrection ?Sir, I arrest you for attempting to smoke and treason ...?
?What ... you b***d! You vicious, slimy b***d!?
? ... and madness. May God have mercy on you.?

A likely end to the truly outspoken few.

Question: Does Khadija smoke?

Complicity in Silence But did you or your father ever call for accountability publicly? We can protest against anything and everything and take stands in private conversations at private gatherings, but to say it out loud? Ha. Comparing the East Pakistan debacle with the US invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan is a sad way of supporting your argument. In the same way that there can be no justification for whatever happened in 1971, there can be none for the US Armed Forces now.

``And that is all I am saying - we need as a first step to judge ourselves by certain moral standards, and not simply point fingers at others or set up a smoke screen of generalities and rhetoric``

- but does that mean that we turn a blind eye to whatever happens in the rest of the world?

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Remembered Quite true ihafeez. In time, people would have become disillusioned with Bhutto anyway. But what Zia did, with his unfair trial, persecution and forced Islamization was to immortalize Mr. Bhutto and to make a soft corner for the Bhuttos in the hearts of most Pakistanis. Even now, there are still millions who would forgive Benazir Bhutto merely because she is her father`s daughter.

Religion teaches us to respect the dead. No matter the amount of dislike one may have for another, spreading slander about someone who is dead is just plain disgraceful.

I Belong Well written and heart rending.

``The final instance baffles me. I am left astounded. I have seen the other side of my world; the darker truth and I have been hidden away from. I am a part of two worlds but limited to one. ``

- limitations that exist in the mind but are more real than lines drawn on the ground.

What Is the Point of Marriage? Hilarious! Though, doesn`t one get bored of living with the same person day in and day out?

Pakistan’s Hudood Laws: Extremely Misused I hope we live to see a day when the Ordinance is no longer part of our Constitution.

Ashura: Atonement, Mourning and Return Very well written Kyla :)

`` I was the poster child for the new, desensitized millennium, I thought. But I guess it?s all about what we remember ? we remember the story; what we bear witness to ? we bear witness to pain; and to what we return. And there?s the rub: to what do we return? ``

- Your words say it so well.

The Immoral Family Individuality is not an admirable virtue. Who cares if we all stifle to death?

Zen Pakistanis Bina, a really good article :) Made a boring Sunday afternoon not-so-boring after all.

On Tolerance Very nice artile Ayesha. Am appalled at the incident you`ve mentioned..though it is atypical of the attitude invigilators have.

Need for Career Counselling There are days when i get frustrated by my computer courses and wish i had gone for a degree in art at Indus. Then I realize my drawing is nothing but pathetic. I wish I had had career counselling though, but even in its absence I think I did pretty well. I opted for a business degree and am doing pretty well. I`ve discovered I have an aptitude for it. But not everyone is that fortunate. A few weeks ago, a teacher of ours asked the class what they wanted to do after they finished their studies. 80% were blank. This is where the educational institutes need to look at.

Snarl! Considering the true definition of decularism, what France is doing is wrong. But leaving that aside, I personally don;t find it to be such a bad idea, except where is personal choice? and individuality? The basic human rights that seem to be violated by France`s statements. Displaying religious symbols has quite gotten out of hand in the subcontinent though, and Pakistan definitely needs a good dose of secularism. Why? Because people are classified through their sect, and even more intricacies. This is not Islam, it is plain sheer ignorance. Farhat Hashmi definitely needs to get off TV. Saying things like ``the time we waste in laughing could be better spent involving ourselves with religious matters`` is the worst way to propogate Islam, if thats what it is being called.

A-Okay I remember reading this article when it was first published in Sunday. Great work Soniah. There have been many discussions on the legality of abortion in religion and our society, but i guess it is more of a personal choice than anything else.