Writing on the Wall

The corona virus has caused ample damage around the world leaving almost every country distraught economically and socially. Ironically, the health sector was on the front line facing brunt of the situation. With all its worrying effects, the virus has steered the governments around the world to commence damage-assessment in various circles. Taking stock of the situation, Unicef has pointed out the alarming number of missed vaccination targets as a result of the lockdowns. In Pakistan, an already suffering vaccination campaign against the polio disease has been further debilitated. Unicef has reported sporadic outbreaks of preventable diseases such as measles and diphtheria in Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan. Pakistan is a large country with high childhood mortality and low immunization coverage rates as every year, more than one million children miss out a full course of the most basic vaccines here hinting that it is difficult to find children missing out during the anti-

My dog has died. I buried him in the garden next to a rusted old machine. Some day I'll join him right there, but now he's gone with his shaggy coat, his bad manners and his cold nose, and I, the materialist, who never believed in any promised heaven in the sky for any human being, I believe in a heaven I'll never enter. Yes, I believe in a heaven for all dogdom where my dog waits for my arrival waving his fan-like tail in friendship. Ai, I'll not speak of sadness here on earth, of having lost a companion who was never servile. His friendship for me, like that of a porcupine withholding its authority, was the friendship of a star, aloof, with no more intimacy than was called for, with no exaggerations: he never climbed all over my clothes filling me full of his hair or his mange, he never rubbed up against my knee like other dogs obsessed with sex. No, my dog used to gaze at me, paying me the attention I need, the attention require

Qom, also spelled as Qum, city, is the capital of Qom province which is located in north-central Iran. The city lies on both banks of the Rūd-e Qom and beside a salt desert, the Dasht-e Kavīr, 92 miles (147 km) south of Tehrān. The modern city has the largest madrasah (theological college) in the country, where students can specialize in Islamic law, philosophy, theology, and logic. It was at Qom that the Iranian army surrendered to Islamic revolutionary militia in 1979. Following the Islamic Revolution in Iran early in 1979, the revolution’s principal figure, the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, again took up residence in Qom, whence he had been exiled by the shah, and made the town his seat. Some 10 kings and 400 Islamic saints are interred in Qom and its neighbourhood.   It is a regional centre for the distribution of petroleum and petroleum products, and a natural gas pipeline from Bandar-e Anzalī and Tehrān and a crude-oil pipeline from Tehrān run through Qom to the Abadan re

Each star a rung, night comes down the spiral staircase of the evening. The breeze passes by so very close as if someone just happened to speak of love. In the courtyard, the trees are absorbed refugees embroidering maps of return on the sky. On the roof, the moon - lovingly, generously –   is turning the stars into a dust of sheen. From every corner, dark-green shadows,   in ripples, come towards me. At any moment they may break over me, like the waves of pain each time I remember this separation from my lover. This thought keeps consoling me: though tyrants may command that lamps be smashed in rooms where lovers are destined to meet,   they cannot snuff out the moon, so today, nor tomorrow, no tyranny will succeed, no poison of torture make me bitter, if just one evening in prison can be so strangely sweet, if just one moment anywhere on this earth. Translation b y: Agha Shahid Ali About the poet:   FAIZ AHMED FAIZ     

Nobody knew that a time will come upon this generation which will force the people to quit all the things they were once addicted to.   The advent of Ramadan 2020 fetched concerns, anxieties and reminiscences from the past.   Ramadan in Muslim countries is like the biggest festival time which is full of colors, cuisines, rituals and joys. It has a different sense and significance for people of different age groups. The old fellows find this holy month an opportunity to seek clemency and salvation with a series of sacraments.   The month of Ramadan literally lure people towards the mosques for daily prayers, they keep fasts throughout the month, offer congregational Quranic recitations and sit in the Aitkaf (people sit in isolation for 10 days and pray). The children, on the other hand, perceive this as the month of festivities.   As they hear that Ramadan is here, they start compelling their parents for shopping and toys and obviously the scrumptious cuisines are a perfect d

We the Pakistanis are dealing with a much bigger problem, it isn’t corona, it’s the communal reckless resolve, which is compelling us to drag the people towards a mass suicide. It just takes a man’s obstinacy which mars the difference between faith and cult. People of Pakistan have witnessed it quite a bit, but during the trying times of corona, it has emerged and spread in a pandemic nature. The fight is underway between radicals willing to perform sacraments and the petrified rationalists’ lot fervent to save humanity. The radicals have once again “convinced” the government to ease the restrictions it has imposed keeping in view the corona pandemic and the preparations for the festive season is in full swing. Radicalists, on the other hand, are running from pillar to post trying to persuade the people that this isn’t the time for such adventurisms and precautions combined with social distancing can aid the fight against the COVID-19. Meanwhile, the viral infectio

The government has recently decided to ease the lock down following less number of cases being reported in the country. According to the top government officials they were expecting a high number of cases which didn’t turn out to be true. AS the government eased the lock down restrictions, a couple of days ago, masses threw the idea of social distancing aside and flouted the corona virus prevention guidelines. People can be seen standing close to each other without masks and they are constantly touching their faces. It can be witnessed anywhere official conferences to queues outside shops and banks, the situation is no different. It has been told on many forums by the health officials and the world health organization that a person can be infected by breathing in the virus if they are within a few feet of an infected person. Despite that the importance of practicing precautions appears to be lost on many occasions. This attitude towards a virus which has infected around 9000

Meetings of clerics on two different occasions have announced that they will resist the imposition of further restrictions on prayer congregations, the statement came following clear instructions by the government to observe the lockdown in mosques. The government has already vowed to bring clerics and all religious groups on-board before reaching a final decision on April 18 and after that such a decision looks quite confusing. The scholars have promised to take necessary measures for congregations, it is difficult to perceive how they will manage mandatory distancing at each and every mosque at all times, with the rising number of people wanting to participate in congregational prayer. It is duty of the citizens, religious scholars to abide by rules laid down by the government against the corona virus pandemic. The government is responsible for protecting all citizens, which includes clerics. Through their unilateral decision-making, the clerics are putting themselves an

Then a woman said, "Speak to us of Joy and Sorrow." And he answered: Your joy is your sorrow unmasked. And the selfsame well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your tears. And how else can it be? The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain. Is not the cup that hold your wine the very cup that was burned in the potter's oven? And is not the lute that soothes your spirit, the very wood that was hollowed with knives? When you are joyous, look deep into your heart and you shall find it is only that which has given you sorrow that is giving you joy. When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight. Some of you say, "Joy is greater than sorrow," and others say, "Nay, sorrow is the greater." But I say unto you, they are inseparable. Together they come, and when one sits alone with you at your board, rem

Compose for Red a proper verse; Adhere to foot and strict iamb; Control the burst of angry words Or they might boil and break the dam. Or they might boil and overflow And drench me, drown me, drive me mad. So swear no oath, so shed no tear, And sing no song blue Baptist sad. Evoke no image, stir no flame, And spin no yarn across the air. Make empty anglo tea lace words— Make them dead white and dry bone bare. Compose a verse for Malcolm man, And make it rime and make it prim. The verse will die—as all men do— but not the memory of him! Death might come singing sweet like C, Or knocking like the old folk say, The moon and stars may pass away, But not the anger of that day.   About The Poet:   ETHERIDGE KNIGHT was an African American poet who made his name in 1968 with his debut volume, Poems from Prison. The book recalls in poetry his eight-year-long sentence after his arrest for robbery in 1960. By the time he left prison, Knight had

Human life has always been a victim of surprises, plagues, crises, adventures, and curiosities.  We faced almost everything in one form or another. Devastating waves of terrorism, violence, protests full of panic and the confused governments remained the hallmark of our wretched existence. Taking the plagues into consideration, we witnessed Dengue, SARS, Ebola and several other deadly diseases but never have we ever witnessed anything crueler than coronavirus. We see the people around us breathless and dying and we are so helpless that we can’t even soothe them or comfort them owing to the infectious and the pandemic nature of this virus. Every tragedy gives birth to a story that is full of human experiences and emotions. If you have any story, feel free to share it. Strictly speaking about myself, I am afraid, afraid for my loved ones, the fear of seeing the people around me vulnerable, fear of not seeing the world I used to cherish around me. I fear the world

Ash   Reshteh  is a thick vegetable and noodle soup which is traditionally prepared to welcome the Persian New Year.  This is a traditional soup dish  generally served in winter.  It is one of the most popular foods in Iran. having an iranian background this remained a worthy addition on our dinning table. It is a dish which remind me of Iranian people, and their grandmothers’ heavenly cookery! Ash Reshte is a mixture of chickpeas, beans, noodles and plenty of herbs and it takes a while to get prepared. People normally serve it along with fried onion and mint. Lets see how we will make this. Ingredients Top of Form ·          ½ cup kidney beans ·          ½ cup chickpeas ·          ½ cup navy beans ·          1 cup chopped parsley ·          1 cup chopped spinach ·          1 cup chopped coriander ·          1 cup chopped dill ·          500gram linguine (or Persian reshteh noodles if you can get them ) ·          2 large onions ·          2 tablespoons flour

Inspector General National Highways & Motorways Police (NH&MP), Zulfiqar Cheema is reputedly one of the finest officers. Recently he came up with the idea of establishing ‘wake-up points’ for the drivers on motorways. Unfortunately, NH&MP need to wake up its operational staff more than ‘wake up points’ for the drivers. Some negligent incidents have been taking place right under the nose of the NH&MP officials, which could have been resulted into a total devastation. On October 31 I was traveling in a local bus with the registration number Peshawar C-9543 from Rawalpindi to Lahore. This vehicle was all set to hit the road with its pathetic traveling conditions. As the bus checked in from the Rawalpindi toll plaza, it was reverted back due to another major problem: the bus was traveling without any route permit. The driver had previous experience of ditching the NH&MP staff, so he decided to take another route. The bus thus checked in from the Turnol entry