People of Gilgit Baltistan: The Political Orphans Syed Ali
You should send this article to newsline or dawn. Youre absolutely right about the people of your region being marginalised...and all we, in the big cities ever hear about gilgit/baltistan is when sectarian riots break out...and eventually, we all prefer to forget even that

Happy Days are Here Again Congratulations Shandana,
I dont know if you remember but sometime last year I had emailed you regarding `Doctor`.. love your writing
Look forward to reading the book!
Batool

Ode to 55/B Shah Abdul Latif Road Re: Pakfin and Syedfahd
Thanks for reading...just to clear something up , the Shah Abdul Latif Road I lived on was near the Quaid`s Mazaar and Soldier Bazar, so not the one in PECHS Block 2 although i know exactly which street (in PECHS) you`re referring to as I work near there..

Sikander uncle: Thank you. Pappa was delighted to hear about you..

Ode to 55/B Shah Abdul Latif Road Cheese: Yes my sentiments exactly...A said this was `self indulgent` :) Dad sent me the photos while i was in toronto...still have them but didnt put them up as it just doesnt do justice to what the house once was..

Mr. Cochinwala:
You have no idea how happy your post made me! My father`s been telling me stories about your family for ages...how the boundary wall was demolished so you all could play etc. My father is the youngest of the Bhagat brothers..Mohammed to be precise.
It is indeed sad to see the lane once lined with lovely old houses now a collection of rows of haphazard apartments buildings. Literally all the houses are gone save one.

Linguistic Imperialism Zia Ahmed,
my sentiments exactly. although i see that this is fast becoming a larraee session and therefore my post will be lost in between the jhagras, i had to say i really miss khudahafiz.
my grandfather used to say `Hay Bhagwaan` alot and in my confused teenage i used to feel he`s somehow betraying his faith. time and again he explained to me how bhagwaan and khuda were synonyms. i have since learned how wrong i was.
long live khudahafiz and for all those people who think this Arabization isnt a big deal, IT IS. look around you, our burkhas have been replaced by abayas, we have a sandwich called ``McArabia`` and wahhabis are multiplying by the minute.

Immigrants: Na Idhar ke, Na uddhar ke Re: # 79
Hi Zainab,
You do have the right Batool. Good to see you here.. thanks so much for the kind comments.

Best,
Batool

Immigrants: Na Idhar ke, Na uddhar ke One aspect of Canadian society that i did not touch upon is the lack of jobs which some of
the interactors have pointed out. Indeed what you hear about highly skilled south asians ending up taxi drivers in Canada is true. Although economics did play a role in our decision to come back to karachi, it wasnt a major player. Fortunately.
I was under the impression that armed with a canadian degree,i would have no problems finding a job in karachi. reality though is different. I have yet to find a wellpaid job in my field (and i have used the Pakistani-quitessential means to get a job i.e. ``source`` as well) but in Canada, simply by emailing my resume and following some rudimentary online instructions, i got an interview and later, a job with one of the best employers in the country. I have come to realize that there are no universal truths about either canada or pakistan vis a vis job hunting. But atleast in canada, merit gets one somewhere.

I tend to agree with #47 Kidbeegorilla: People born/bred in the west who have south asian parents have it the hardest. Your skin is brown so you canNOT be American/Canadian..! To be constantly questioned about your identity is not easy. And to feel lost in/no connection to the country your parents constantly talk about is rather hard.

doublec#23:
Why are you so upset baba? As much as it upsets me to deflate your sails, I am happy i came back. atleast i dont reminisce constantly and feel like im living a half-hearted life. Like i said, family obligations and other circumstances made us return. If it was up to my spouse, we would never have left toronto.

#36 Veeresh ji:
Toronto bhi kissi se kum nahi! Granted it does not have the pictureque beauty of Vancouver, or the charm of Marseilles, but hey it has an awesome film festival, Gerard Street and some of the best Italian food ever. Not to mention a spirited Left

#57 Tahmed sahab: I just visited the said country and I couldnt agree more.Your earlier post: I do not feel sorry for myself, in fact i consider myself fortunate to have gone through this experience.

Thank you all those who expressed their empathy and good wishes. means alot.

Batool

Immigrants: Na Idhar ke, Na uddhar ke Zakk: Yes there is a level of numbness. Of going through motions. of becoming used to this life all over again. But thats my ambivalence right there; i like this life and yet i dislike it.

Temporal: Cyber hug back! Yes youre right - i was fortunate to have the option. Dil tau yahan lagta hai maggar T.O ki bhi yaad aati hai.

Romair: I think very few people immigrate due to nostalgia. i am no exception. And i wouldnt change my immigration experience for the world

samb: thanks very much :). we had a little chowk group in Toronto...you should have gotten in touch. i agree with you that so much about pakistan is archaic and just plain wrong and yet there was a pull to return. I guess it`s a matter of priorities...

godot: I have an uncle (who has not lived abroad) who always says ``yeh america, britain sub bekaar hai,wahaan kuch nahi rakha hai, apna mulk apna hota hai`` and im sure you mustve heard the ``first-grade-citizen-in-pak/third-grade-elsewhere`` citizen argument. Not for a second did i feel like a second or third grade citizen in Canada. But i refrain from arguing with him because, as you say for a lot of people, ignorance is bliss.

Karachi Odyssey ``the key here
is not to look in the eyes
to talk as if addressing a wall
and drop names
this rudeness
opens most doors. ``

``been to palatial homes
elite clubs and hotels
easily this was
the most beautiful face
i had seen in the city of lights``

You captured the contradictions of karachi succinctly...welcome back T

Last Rites: An Evening at a Pak/Indian Show-biz Award Ceremony i have absolutely no idea about what the awards were really like (except for the coverage given to them by tft etc) but i found this piece very very funny...im still laughing..too too good!
But btw, whats the slaanlaikum spoof? did each person actually come on stage and say slanlaikum?

Living in Fear I certainly hope that justice will be done...

Living in Fear skept:
sorry for misunderstanding that statement...what you really meant is my point exactly. These people have taken religion to extremes and gone crazy with their self-avowed jehad of sorts. Where we differ I suppose is that I feel there is a huge difference between my best friend whose a sunni and any member of Sipahe Sahaba who also happens to be sunni. For you, the latter is not essentially ``sunni`` because he is defying what sunnism is. Once, again that is what our prime minister said ; ``these murderers cannot be muslims because muslims arent supposed to kill``...and yet i feel religion lies at the heart of this entire saga..the reason they kill is faith
guess we all have our opinions

Living in Fear skept:
``why would anyone want to annihilate shias particularly other than someone who`s mentally retarded? `` well i guess if the mentally retarded arent shia, then they can live! or no, since the mentally retarded shias have no way of ``uplifting`` their community, perhaps they can live as well

But religion has EVERYTHING to do with it...when you say maybe Sunnism has nothing to do with it, I guess youre unaware of the likes of Sipah Sahaba, LashkareJhangvi and their sister organizations that are essentially Wahabbi Sunni organizations. Once again, I dont think people like you or moderate Sunnis should be lumped up with these bigots, but to deny the fact that these killers are killing in the name of religion is hypocritical dont you think? These organizations have actually accepted their role in the killing of shias, moreover the people arrested last week for shia killings in Karachi also belonged to these ``banned`` outfits.
This has not happened overnight. This goes back to Zia`s time and the state has much to do with it. But when people like Jamali say ``these killers arent muslims`` something youre echoing, its just sad..

``Faithism``...i dont know..i dont think you can give academic names to these things. This is wrong and its prosecution, and its killing. yes it is very much like racism and yet so much more..

Living in Fear I make no apologies for being emotional with this piece of writing - as i said in the article, this is personal.
Thankyou those of you who appreciate the seriousness of the situation
One thing that I should have said though is that the majority of moderate Sunnis are not to be understood as the culprits here.I understand that they condemn these barbarious acts. Having said that, even my own friends have asked me questions about my faith which are laced with camouflaged dislike and ignorance which worries me

labyrinth1: as for the gentleman who said killing shias is an isolated incident and that his father also got a threat from the banned organizations that are responsible for killing shias, that is just another attempt to say ``sub ke saath hota hai``, a way of denying the situation - not that i expect you to understand anyway. These statistics for 2004 paint a different picture though, dont you think? and this is just this year...

June 6, MULTAN: Shia Gynaecologist Dr Suraiya Nisar shot dead in DG Khan
May 31, KARACHI: 25 Shias died in Ali Raza mosque bombing: 38 injured
May 20, JHANG: Attempt to burn a Shia Imambargah by a mob of 40 near Jhang in Kotwali May 14, LAHORE: Shia family of 6 shot dead in Mughalpura
May 7, KARACHI: 22 Shias died in Sindh Madressatul Islam mosque bombing: 96 injured
March 2, QUETTA: 48 Shias Killed 140 injured in suicide attacks on religious procession
March 2, MANDI BAHAUDDIN: 2 Shias killed and 53 injured in Phalia clash
March 2, MAILSI & GILGIT: Imambargah attacked, mourning procession stopped
February 28, RAWALPINDI: Suicide Bomber dies in suicide attack on imambargah in Satellite Town
February 16, GILGIT: 3 Shias injured in blast at Imambargah
http://www.geocities.com/sipahisahaba/2004/02032004b.htm

Romair:
Who am i to decide the fate of a people? Rule whether they are Muslims or not?

Karachi Burning ``How must it feel, O martyr
to be a few murders away
from meeting your glorious Maker?
For your sin, how much we pay? ``
Absolutely poignant...poetry conveys so much in a few words..

Karachi Blast - The Untold Story We sit helpless, immune, unable to do much so far away. Suicide bombing seems to be the new way of these heinous murderers. Killing worshippers at Friday prayers and thinking they will go to heaven..will it ever end?